2023-12-01 16:21:07
The assembly of workers of Comfortablewith the support of CCOO and UGT, began this Friday a mobilization in Campdevànol that will last until next December 5. This Friday they will stop for two hours each shift and this afternoon they will block the road in Ripoll. The chairman of the committee, Xavier Rodríguezexplained a l’ACN that the main demand is that the management of the steelworks, owned by the Generalitat, be “more agile” for it to function as a mercantile company, which they now assure does not happen, and thus prevent viability from being in “danger” The workers also demand a salary increase and that the professional groups be reviewed, among other demands.
The midday stop was made in front of building 4 which is where the offices are, the place where all the meetings will take place. More than a hundred workers, with the support of the two unions, gathered in the rain and with a banner that said ‘For the freedom of Comforsa and the future of Ripollès’.
The demands of the workers of Comfortable they focus on four points, as highlighted by the president of the company committee, Xavier Rodríguez. First and foremost there is securing the “viability” of the company. They demand that the Government prove that it is working to reverse the situation and prove that they can work as a commercial company “with guarantees”. Workers also want a wage increase that does not make them lose purchasing power. “Last year they raised us by 2.75%, but the increase in the last two years is practically 10%”has said.
Another important point is to be able to continue receiving social assistance that workers had historically had and that they lost with the change in management. “We were denied it and now they don’t pay us”, Rodríguez said. The fourth of the points is the revision of the professional groups which, according to the president of the committee, could mean an increase in category for many workers and which “they also denied it.”
If their demands are not met, the workers intend to continue mobilizing. This happens due to the two-hour strike this Friday and a road closure on the C-17 in Ripoll from 6 to 8 in the evening at the height of Can Villaura. Another cut is planned for Sunday at the same point 6 to 8 in the evening and next Tuesday there would be another strike of two hours per shift and the cutting of the C-17 in the evening.
With the labor dispute on the table and asked by the ACN, the management of the company has declined to make any kind of statement.
In the hands of a public company of the Generalitat
The steel company is in the hands of the Generalitat’s public company Avançsa. Comforsa is specialized in the transformation of steel by forging and in the mechanization intended for the automotive sector. It has around 350 workers between its work centers in Campdevànol, Ripoll and the offices in Barcelona.
From the committee they are of the opinion that this business operation of a public regime without being able to make any exception to operate as a mercantile regimel “not only harms the company, but much of the social fabric of Ripollès”. “A large part of the economic fabric depends on the company. We are more than 300 direct families, many indirect, shops, restaurants, … it’s a wheel. If Comforsa has a leg cut off the chair, the region will suffer”, he warned. That is why the workers want the Government to be able to supervise the management of the company, but they ask that they be allowed to operate as a mercantile company.
The dismissal of the general manager and the complaints
In 2020 the Government approved a capital increase for Comforsa de 10 million euros to mitigate the effects of the crisis covid-19. According to Generalitatby mid-2018, a notable reduction in losses had been achieved and until December 2019 there were positive results until the pandemic led to a significant drop in production.
In May 2022, the Generalitat dismissed the director general, Reca Vidiella, without giving further explanations. According to an audit commissioned by Department of Business and Work, Vidiella would have improperly appropriated amounts in excess of 700,000 euros during the period he was director (2018-2022). As some media published, Vidiella would have raised his salary 85,000 euros to 210,000 euros in 2021, including a target bonus, as well as other personal expense payments. For all that, the Business Department denounced him for misappropriation and disloyal administration while claiming 715,000 euros.
For her part, Vidiella goes defend that the salary increase was agreed and denounced the Generalitat considering his dismissal null and void. He also filed another complaint for moral damages.
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