The fuse of a conflict has rekindled in one of the tire factories, a local branch of the Japanese company bridgeston, with a factory in the city of Llavallol. It was on Thursday a 12-hour strikeconvened by the SUTNA union, to ask for the reinstatement of eight sacked workers.
The guild that leads Alexander Crespo also announced that it is “analyzing the deepening trade union and legal measures to be adopted”.
Bridgestone, for its part, issued a statement stating that the layoffs (without specifying how many workers it affected) were for “unjustified absenteeism, lateness and non-compliance with duties corresponding to their location.
The layoffs, according to the union, are linked to a complaint that the body itself had made against the “thermal load” or high temperature recorded at the Llavallol plant during the recent heat wave.
The provincial Ministry of Labor carried out an inspection and published the results, which included a intimation the company to make changes.
The company, on the other hand, separated one fact from another: in its press release, Bridgestone ensured that the fired workers had already been “informed” in advance of the conduct they were accused of. “Then, when no improvement occurred, we applied various disciplinary sanctions, in compliance with the Law, our Collective Bargaining Agreement and our internal procedures.”
Those sanctions, in fact, were the trigger a previous conflict between Bridgestone and SUTNA, in mid-Decemberwhich culminated in a 24-hour strike in the three roofing factories.
Instead, the question of poor working conditions was admitted from the company, which released a second press release, separate from the subject of layoffs.
“Although we had all the required documentation from Bridgestone Argentina, as well as having presented the investment projects to the Ministry of Labor and the Union some time ago, the results mark an excess of the detected temperature”, said the company, which added that since 2011 it has been carrying out an investment plan to improve these conditions, for a total of $6.5 million.
From SUTNA the union’s complaint against the environmental conditions of Bridgestone and the layoffs persisted They go hand in hand. “Instead of immediately correcting these serious deficiencies and ensuring a safe working environment, the company is responding with layoffs amid hostile and anti-union behavior,” the union said.
The Union of Tire Specialists is chaired by Blacklistof affiliation trotskyistunlike other unions affecting the automotive and auto parts sector such as UOM and SMATA, which are traditional pillars of trade unionism peronist.
With Alejandro Crespo as general secretary, since the end of February last year SUTNA has maintained a protracted conflict with the three tire factories located in the country, Bridgestone, Pirelli and Fate (the latter, the only one of the local capitals).
The union has called for a wage increase above inflation and a 200% to 300% increase in hours worked on weekends and holidays, in a scheme in which there are no fixed francs: the collective agreement establishes a rhythm of seven consecutive days against three days off, another seven consecutive days against two days off and another seven days against two days off.
That claim was rejected by the companies and was the start of a arm wrestling which included a succession of strikes and the progressive tire shortage all over the country. In addition to affecting sales to the public in garages and tire shops, five car manufacturers (Fiat, Peugeot, Renault, Ford and Toyota) also had to paralyze their factories for a few days due to lack of coverage.
The conflict ended on September 30, with the signing of an agreement which included a bonus of 100,000 pesos, a salary increase of 66% for the period July 2021-June 2022 and a monthly trigger clause to adjust above inflation.
Furthermore, in the case of Bridgestone, the company established in 2011 the payment of an additional bonus to earnings, which in 2022 resulted in an out-of-agreement payment more than one million pesos per operator.
Source: Clarin
