The Secretary of State for Labor today defended the legality of the use of layoffs by Autoeuropa, ensuring that the law was complied with and that the “process was monitored by Social Security and the Authority for Working Conditions”.
“The law was complied with. It was not the rejection or approval of the request in terms of subsidy that was conditioning the decision here. The decision (by Autoeuropa) was taken due to a factual need in June, that is the reality”, said Secretary of State Adriano Rafael Moreira.
“The good news they also gave us (when Autoeuropa met with the Government about the lay-off process) is that they had managed to position themselves for production, now in this phase of the hybrid model and then the electric model, which means that in the international competition of the numerous Volkswagen units, Portugal has gained its space. These investments will guarantee the continuity of these jobs”, he added.
The minister was speaking before the Committee on Work, Social Security and Inclusion, which today concluded the hearing of seven entities, within the scope of a request from the PCP, to assess the consequences of the lay-off for workers at the car factory and companies supplying Volkswagen Autoeuropa.
The Autoeuropa factory, in Palmela, in the district of Setúbal, decided to apply the lay-off regime to 3,742 of the company’s approximately 4,900 workers, for a period of eight days in June and 13 days in July, as part of a process of decarbonization and technological changes to the factory’s infrastructure that are necessary for the production of new car models.
At the hearing, the Secretary of State for Labor also highlighted the importance of Autoeuropa for the economy of the region and the country, recalling that the company has a history of good understanding with the Workers’ Commission and that in this case, of resorting to the ‘lay-off’, there was also a prior agreement between the company’s management and the workers’ representatives.
The responses from the government official and other entities, namely the ACT and the Social Security Institute, which were also heard in the parliamentary committee, did not convince deputy Paula Santos, from the PCP.
“We are not facing an exceptional situation, an unforeseen situation, a business crisis; it is a company that has made profits and, therefore, has to assume its responsibilities and has to invest in its production process,” he said.
“The underlying problem here is, in fact, this abusive use of financial resources that belong to Social Security, which belong to workers. We are talking about financial resources that belong to workers and, therefore, company management cannot look to Social Security as an alternative source of financing for what they intend to do in their companies, because we are talking about funds that must naturally be well managed to safeguard and protect workers”, he added.
On the other hand, IL deputy Joana Cordeiro and PSD deputy Pedro Roque considered that the law was complied with.
“It is now clear that the law was complied with. We can discuss the law, but that is another matter. We realised today that there was no need to discuss these issues here in relation to this specific process, because the company complied. There is a law that was complied with”, stressed the IL deputy.
Pedro Roque considered that it was demonstrated that the law was complied with and welcomed Autoeuropa’s decision to continue investing in Portugal.
“It would probably be much easier for Volkswagen to relocate the factory from Portugal to another location – because it would be closer to the centre of Europe, closer to the markets – than to keep it here. This strategic intention by Volkswagen to modernise the factory guarantees the future of production, the future of exports and the future of employment for workers, not only for Autoeuropa workers, but for the entire industrial park”, said Pedro Roque.
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
