The dairy group Pascual has announced a collective redundancy plan (ERO) that will lead to the dismissal of the 80 employees comprising the entire workforce at its factory located in Gurb. This decision comes just over 30 days before the scheduled closure of the facilities on July 31st.
The facilities of the dairy company will be transferred to Casa Tarradellas, which plans to shift the current activity of milk processing and packaging to focus on the production of mozzarella for pizzas. This change in production focus has generated concern among the workers.
The announcement of the ERO confirms the fears expressed by the staff since the sale agreement to Casa Tarradellas was made public. The workers had alleged a hidden redundancy plan and had organized several strikes and demonstrations to demand labor guarantees for those who would join the new company.
Worker representatives question the real justification for the ERO and state that, while open to negotiation, they will not accept any agreement that does not protect the labor and social rights of the staff. They have not ruled out legal action to challenge the procedure, which they consider to be full of irregularities. The approximately eighty affected employees are already planning a schedule for future mobilizations.
The staff criticizes Pascual for delaying the start of negotiations, waiting until the last moment, with the closure imminent, to engage in dialogue with their representatives. They also allege that a significant portion of the activity has already been moved from the Osona plant to Pascual's factory in Aranda de Duero, in Burgos.
