Blankets, sandwiches, chess, coffee, bonfires to fight the cold and lots of solidarity. Workers at the Bimbo factory in El Verger The first day of seven strikes started at midnight last night. Those who called against the closure of this historic factory (formerly Madalenas Ortiz). “Monitoring is absolute. We are all stopped, from the manager to the last worker,” said José González, president of the works council.
Workers (there are nearly a hundred workers in this factory) are at the entrance. They bought folding chairs and blankets. It’s been a long night. They lit a small bonfire in a kind of barbecue. They lived the first hours of the strike in the heat of the fire, playing both music and chess..
The works council will meet again this Wednesday with the multinational’s executives to try to salvage an impending closure. Actually, The company has already informed you that it plans to close its El Verger facilities on March 31, which will celebrate its half-century this year.. The meeting will take place at Oliva Nova Hotel.
“A historical factory and reference in Marina Alta”José González remembered. The region will lose what little industry it has left.
The chairman of the works council emphasized today: Saturday’s massive demonstration (nearly a thousand people showed up in support) “far exceeded our expectations”. Marina Alta stands with the workers. They are receiving many messages of solidarity. They hung banners leading the protest and some of the T-shirts worn by the participants, with the slogan “Bimbo takes our bread” written on them, at the entrance of the factory.
Many of our neighbors worked in this factory or have relatives who passed through there. This is part of the history of the region. Dénia was started by businessman José Ortiz Savall.An entrepreneur who emigrated to Algeria and returned to Dénia in the 60s, where the groundbreaking restaurant and nightclub (Palladium) he opened on Les Rotes beach did not turn out well, he devoted himself to cakes and pastries. He knew this business because he came from a family of bakers. In Algeria and Tangier, their desserts triumphed. One of the company’s first slogans was “If you want to be happy, eat Ortiz cookies.”
This factory has always preserved the family character of its founder. Madalenas Ortiz later fell into the hands of multinational companies and was eventually acquired by Bimbo. But continued It symbolizes that industrial activity is possible in a region that is increasingly dependent on tourism. Its closure was a huge blow to Marina Alta’s economy.