The management of the steel company ArcelorMittal and the majority of union representatives (UGT, CC OO and USO) reached an agreement last night on the conditions of the new employment regulation dossier (ERTE) introduced by the company due to the reduction in its order book. It applies to some products and will apply to 6,500 workers in Spain, including 5,100 in Asturias.
HE POSTPOSTFor economic and productive reasons, it will last three months (until December 31) rather than six months as originally planned. Arcelor Mittaland reduces the expected effect. In Asturias, the reduction in working hours will be 15% instead of the 25% the company originally proposed, and in Sagunto (Valencian Community) it will decrease from 15% to 5%. On the contrary, in Etxebarri (Basque Country), where the reduction will be 50%, the incidence remains at its original conditions; It is located at the Navarrese plants in Lesaka and Lagasa (35%), ArcelorMittal Distribución (headquartered in Llanera) and Distribucióin Norte (in both cases it will be 20%), and at AMDS Processing, which processes flat carbon products in Legasa and Lagasa. The effect will be 40%.
Although at the last meeting the business representative explained that it would not be able to maintain the same guarantees that it had implemented in the last ERTE and that the conditions would worsen, the company eventually agreed to offer as follows: previous regulatory filings, 90% of gross salary and overtime and leave 100% of your fee.
The company also agreed that the measure should only be applied to facilities that must stop due to non-loading of cargo. work and that in transverse sections only the maximum percentage of the application at the affected facility is affected.. It was also agreed that the suspension of contracts would not affect the social benefits or benefits to which workers are entitled.
The finally accepted job offer is based on the employee representation’s six-month application, the impact percentages announced at the first meeting, and the same economic and social conditions (economic, technical, organizational and productive reasons) as in the last ETOP type dossier.
Unions had rejected the regulation for six months, arguing that the company’s legal report and technical report to negotiators only provided forecasts for this quarter. Therefore, they evaluated both the six-month validity and the application percentages as disproportionate. Which the company brought up at the beginning of the negotiation.
The company justifies ERTE due to the decline in demand, which mainly affects tinplate, wire rod and pre-coated coil production lines (for the construction sector) and to a lesser extent galvanized coil production lines.
In its latest report in July, European steel association Eurofer warned of a worse-than-expected deterioration of the market in the final period of the year, but also predicted further strengthening of demand in 2024. Sadei said yesterday that Asturian industry activity will continue to decline for the rest of the year.
Principality and Femetal to collaborate in development of Just Transition Fund
According to the agreement reached yesterday between the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Industry and Economic Development and the business association, the Principality and the Asturian metallurgical employers’ association (Femetal) will cooperate in the development of the Just Transition Fund. Femetal will determine the priorities of companies in the decarbonization process, and the Government will define calls for assistance, taking into account the needs expressed by the sector. “If these major projects require local contracts with SMEs in Asturia, we will provide all our support to create channels that allow companies in the Asturian metal sector to access the Just Transition Fund and PERTES,” he said at the end of the meeting. meeting: Antonio Fernández-Escandón, president of the metallurgical employers’ association. The Ministry underlined that the Fund is “a particularly suitable tool to support companies in their adaptation to an emissions-free economy”. The principality was allocated $262.8 million from the Just Transition Fund; this is 30.6% of the total awarded to Spain. Its aim is to facilitate the implementation of the European Green Deal and achieve a climate-neutral European Union by 2050 as a deadline.