African swine fever, which was first detected in Spain less than a week ago, is already having consequences in the workplace. The Jorge Group, one of the main companies in the pork sector, has laid off 300 temporary workers from one of its slaughterhouses, Santa Eugenia de Berga, in Barcelona province, due to the pandemic.
This was reported by the CCOO union, which asks public administrations to work to avoid layoffs in all companies that will see their activity reduced due to the blockade on pork exports. “We cannot allow workers to pay the price for this crisis,” they claimed in a statement on Wednesday.
Aragon’s Grupo Jorge, a giant in the sector that operates its own slaughterhouses, farms, cutting plants and transport fleets, is one of Spain’s largest pork exporters. Its meat is sold to more than 100 different countries, and procurement is now paralyzed and waiting to be resolved in negotiations between governments.
As a result of this scenario, CCOO confirms that the company will have informed the ETTs to which it subcontracts a portion of its employees, this Tuesday, that it will discontinue its services as of this Thursday.
The CCOO union is using the Jorge Group case to warn against dismissals due to African swine fever and asks managements to act to protect the workforce. In this way, they propose to activate ERTOs due to force majeure and prohibit layoffs related to the animal health crisis. Likewise, they question whether financial aid is needed to protect jobs.