The Mayor of Córdoba, José María Bellido, expressed his strong support for the staff of Hitachi-Energy during a meeting held this morning, during which the situation of the labor conflict caused by the blockage in negotiation … of the collective agreement. Bellido met with workers to learn directly about the latest measures adopted by the company, including sanction to 76 employees with between 21 and 120 days of suspension of employment and salary, despite the commitment made to ease tensions and advance dialogue.
During the meeting, a representative of the works council, Domingo Centella, explained to the mayor that during the meeting held last Thursday at the Andalusian Center for Labor Relations (CARL), the social part had accepted suspend the strike requested today, which was achieved.
In this context, Centella stressed that the company must withdraw the sanctions as a sign of goodwill before the new meeting, also scheduled at CARL. However, the company chose to maintain sanctionswhich caused unease among workers, who interpreted this measure as a “secret ERTE”, given that the sanctions were applied the same day work began in the factory.
Faced with this situation, Mayor José María Bellido told workers that “you know that you have our support“. Likewise, the councilor stressed that, even if the growth of the company is an objective shared by all, “it cannot be done to the detriment of labor rights, nor of layoffs, nor of the measures that the company is adopting”.
Help for those affected
The first mayor also stressed that, on the side of public administrations “We will not prioritize business investment over labor rightsand we have already transferred it to the company. Furthermore, Bellido indicated that, although administrations should not intervene directly in the negotiation, they have the responsibility to play a mediating role to reduce tensions and “return to common sense”.
For her part, the general secretary of CC.OO. of Cordoba, Marina Borregocriticized the opportunity chosen by the company to impose the sanctions, highlighting the difficulties that this will generate for the sanctioned workers. Borrego asked the mayor to assign financial assistance to those affected by these sanctions, as many of them will face serious economic difficulties in the months to come.
About The Author
