Plant workers from the Moño Azul fruit packing company, which is located in General Roca, complained that the company continued to work the fruit through cooperatives and not with its employees.
A delegate from the Packaging Guild, Jose Luis Estrada, told Telam that the conflict they have with the company started in March last year, when the company settled a dispute with 96 workers by paying them severance amounts lower than those established by law.
Now, he said, there are 11 workers who are fighting for the compensation due to them by law, stressing that "the company has to do its part".
"If the company has to make layoffs, then it must do them properly and if it must work we ask it to work properly," said the trade unionist.
Even though the season ends when there is no more fresh fruit entering the plant, the delegate said that he and his companions had been suspended a week ago, when there was still merchandise entering the plant.
"The company is playing outside the law so we will file a complaint at the Ministry of Labor of the Province of Rio Negro asking for inspections because the company is working with fruit cooperative employees," he said.
Estrada said that the employees of Moño Azul had not worked the fruit directly this year, but that they had arranged the bins and cleaned the warehouses. "These are tasks we're not supposed to do," he said.
In addition, he said, the company had offered them work in the packing plant located in the town of Villa Regina, but they wouldn't take into account the seniority of workers that had worked for 45 years.
On Thursday, March 30 at 17.00, the workers will attend a hearing at the Ministry of Labour of the province in search of a solution to the union issue. "If there is no solution, we'll take the plant of Regina or we'll strike on the routes to protest," he said.
Source: infocampo.com.ar