Christmas and the new year came with layoffs for the workers at the Puerto Rawson fish processing plant. On December 24, the first 3 dismissals arrived and on December 31 the remaining 8, all with one element in common, causes invented by the employers to dismiss without compensation the effective workers who have between 10 and 25 years in the plant. .
The majority shareholder of Puerto Rawson, Héctor Motrico, used the same argument that the entire fishing industry employers use against the workers and their unions “that because of the workers the fish was spoiled.” The true objective of the employers is to change the modality of the workers, dismissing the troops and hiring black workers or cooperatives, without labor rights, more precarious and with low salaries.
This bosses’ attack occurs in the middle of the 2024/2025 shrimp harvest in Chubut, which marks a milestone with exceptional catches, with almost 50,000 tons captured since November 1.
From La Izquierda Diario we approach the camp and talk to the workers who are making a camp at the door of the plant demanding their reinstatement.
Valeria, a plant worker for more than 20 years and delegate, tells us that “We are 62 people who have been working in fishing for more than 20 years. We are here in protest mode because 11 colleagues were fired without cause, causes invented by the employers. For example, they put the reason for dismissal in the telegram for confiscating merchandise that was never, ever spoiled by colleagues.”
And he adds “All year we had conflicts with the company due to lack of payment. They didn’t pay us with the new salary scale. It was the whole year of hearings, the whole year we were in the undersecretary of hearings until we reached an agreement, they owed us almost 2 million pesos, we reached an agreement with them in the month of November, for one million we accepted that and in two installments that will pay us to go back to work because we are in the middle of the season. So we started working and they were late with the payment of the fortnight, they were late with the bonus, they were late with the bonus and among the colleagues we said that we are not going to allow them anything more so we took a measure and we stayed in the dining room so that the money appears and they deposit us.”
Regarding the layoffs, Valeria tells us that “and well, now they blame us for 400 kilos that were spoiled, which was not the case. The colleagues were fired on the 23rd, on the 24th they received the dismissal telegrams and the merchandise was only thrown away on the 28th. They do not have a certificate from SENASA, they have nothing to prove that SENASA came here to confiscate that merchandise, nothing. Everything they put in the telegrams to my colleagues are all lies, all causes invented by them.”
“So, nothing, now we are going to stay here until Monday, when we have a hearing at 10 in the morning at the undersecretary of labor. We stay here until our co-workers are reinstated. They told us that more telegrams will continue to arrive. So, well, we are waiting. But hey, always with the idea that our colleagues are reinstated And in the fight, in the fight that we had to fight with them all this year.”
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
