- He highlights the political and economic stability Galicia offers investors.
- The Galician Government is working to improve access to industrial land and streamline procedures for strategic projects to attract business investment.
- The new Workplace Wellbeing Plan focuses on prevention to reduce the risk of sick leave, while strengthening support for employees during their absence and after they return to work
A Coruña, 1 October 2026
The President of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, today highlighted the Galician Government’s commitment to the region’s businesses. He said it provides a stable environment and a range of measures to help them tackle major challenges, including improving their competitiveness.
Opening the conference Business Today: Three Challenges Facing Spanish Businesses — Competitiveness, a Stable Legal Framework and Workplace Absenteeism, organised by Nueva Mutua Sanitaria in A Coruña, Rueda said all three issues were “particularly relevant today” and called for “debate, listening, reflection and effective conclusions”. He noted that businesses create wealth and high-quality jobs, which is why the Xunta offers support both to attract new investment and to help companies already established in Galicia grow or diversify without having to leave the region. “Galicia Calidade also means that our businesses, economy and entrepreneurs operate effectively,” he said.
“A competitive country is a country that moves forward,” Rueda said. He pointed to measures including the provision of industrial land: the latest tender for the sale of plots resulted in the largest allocation in a decade, with 90 plots awarded to 44 companies. He also cited legal mechanisms that shorten the time needed to launch strategic projects without compromising legal safeguards, and the Galicia Economic Office, where entrepreneurs can obtain information and advice.
Rueda also stressed the importance of innovation, “retaining and attracting talent” and helping businesses “fill vacancies” to improve their competitiveness.
The President added that Galicia offers political and economic stability, reflected in the annual approval of its budgets, which “will be in force on 1 January”. This reliability, he said, helps attract investment while maintaining high standards and providing legal certainty.
Comprehensive plan
The President of the Xunta said that workplace absenteeism “is an issue that must be addressed without resorting to demagoguery”. He noted that the Galician Government has just approved the Comprehensive Plan to Improve Prevention, Workplace Wellbeing and a Healthy Return to Work in Galicia 2026–2029, allocating €45 million to implement 37 measures.
The plan aims to improve working conditions and reduce the number of people needing time off work due to illness or injury. It also seeks to strengthen support for employees while they are on sick leave, aid their recovery and help them return to work.
Approved at the most recent meeting of the Xunta’s cabinet, the plan includes preventive measures such as a Galician Wellbeing Strategy and musculoskeletal and mental health services for staff at small and medium-sized enterprises and microbusinesses, as well as self-employed workers. Rueda said small businesses would also be eligible for assistance to hire temporary cover when an employee’s absence is prolonged. Employees who wish to use the service will have someone to support them when they return to work, helping them settle back in and avoid a relapse.
Alongside these measures, the Xunta will continue to strengthen healthcare for people on sick leave and streamline the administrative procedures involved.
