The CEOE Foundation, the CEA and the Regional Government of Andalusia sign the agreement to join the Sumamos Salud+Economía Plan (in English ‘We Combine Health + Economy Plan’)

The president CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, the president of the Andalusian Regional Government, Juanma Moreno, and the president of the Andalusian Confederation of Employers (CEA), Javier González de Lara, have signed the agreement creating a framework for collaboration to speed up projects between the parties. The president of CEOE has offerd"the capacity of the companies" to the public administrations to speed up the end of the pandemic and the beginning of the recovery, and has highlighted that in the Community of Andalusia there are "140 mutual insurance centres with more than 1,200 trained staff", which could increase the number of people vaccinated by up to 20%.

The president of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, the president of the Andalusian Regional Government, Juanma Moreno, and the president of the Andalusian Confederation of Employers (CEA), Javier González de Lara, signed an agreement on Friday to create a framework for collaboration to speed up the implementation of projects between the parties, including the reinforcement of the vaccination campaign and the development of solidarity projects for vulnerable communities.

Specifically, from the launch of the Sumamos Plan, CEA, with the support of the CEOE Foundation, will expand and reinforce the actions of the Andalusian health authorities, offering all the tools and means available to companies. 

Mass vaccination aimed at achieving 70% immunity in the population is currently the main objective to combat the pandemic and restore social and economic normality. 

CEA is actively and directly committed to achieving this goal in Andalusia. In this regard, González de Lara stressed: “Businessmen are aware of our social responsibility. The Andalusian business fabric is not exclusively focused on economic activity or the generation of wealth. We focus on people. We assert our social responsibility, and we are aware of the needs of citizens. That is why we are deeply pleased with this step forward by the Junta de Andalucía in signing this agreement with the CEOE Foundation and CEA. It enables companies to contribute to the health-related efforts needed to control the pandemic. We, the business community, are, as is shown here once again, allies of the Administration in the fight against COVID-19”.

Meanwhile, the president of CEOE, Antonio Garamendi, highlighted the willingness of companies to help from the start of the pandemic and highlighted the value of the various social agreements that have been reached.

Garamendi offered “the capacity of companies” to speed up the end of the current health and economic crisis, and pointed out that, in the Andalusian region, one in three workers are in companies and there are “more than 400 companies with more than 250 workers” that have their own medical facilities.

Moreover, he recalled that the region also has “140 mutual health centres from mutual insurance companies with more than 1,200 workers” that are prepared, under the collaboration agreement that the CEOE Foundation will soon sign with the Ministry of Social Security and the mutual insurance companies, to increase the Community’s vaccination capacity by 20%. “We are ready to help, under the Administration’s instructions, on the vaccination campaign to save the summer,” he said.

New testing centres
As of May, CEA’s premises in the Science and Technology Park of La Cartuja will host a temporary testing centre.  Health professionals from the Andalusian Health Service, using NHS equipment, will perform antigen tests free of charge, by appointment on the Plan Sumamos website (www.plansumamos.es).

The target population for this process is workers. The National Federation of Self-Employed Workers’ Associations (ATA) and the Confederation of Employers of Seville (CES), together with the Andalusian employers’ association, are assessing what specific groups can be included in this testing campaign.

This is a pioneering experience in Andalusia, which may be extended to other provinces in the region through CEA’s Territorial Organisations.

On the other hand, in the field of solidarity actions, the signatory parties are committed to promoting the ‘Sustainable Digitalisation’ project in the region, whereby companies and administrations can donate unused electronic devices to be reused by vulnerable communities after they have been refurbished.

The Plan Sumamos. Salud + Economía’ (in English, We Combine Health+Economy Plan)

The CEOE Foundation’s “Sumamos Plan” includes a set of five initiatives through which companies can help, ranging from testing (providing support for mass testing in their workplaces, donating resources, materials, and space); tracking (supporting the mass adoption of the Radar COVID application through communication campaigns to employees, suppliers or customers); communication initiatives; assistance to the most vulnerable groups; and vaccination.

By joining the Sumamos Plan, CEA wants to achieve the much-needed balance between health and the economy, a binomial for which the essential foundations of public-private collaboration between Andalusian employers and the regional Andalusian government have been laid today.