09:02 AM
Propal, a company belonging to the Carvajal Group with more than 60 years of experience in the paper sector, announced the implementation of voluntary retirement plans for their employees. This decision is made in response to the difficult conditions that the paper industry is going through, as communicated by the company.
“Thinking about the people who accompany us through their work and with a view to preserving the business as a source of job creation, we makes it necessary to rethink expenses in general, which is why various strategies have been developed that allow us to adapt to the new realities. of competitiveness and the markets where we participate,” reads the letter published by the company signed by its vice president, Victoria Eugenia Arango.
Next, Propal presented to its workers that, as part of the strategies to guarantee the sustainability of the business, a voluntary retirement plan has been designed with alternatives for those who wish to take advantage of this option.
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The first option is aimed at those employees who are three years or less away from the old-age pension. For them, Propal announced voluntary non-salary aid equivalent to a percentage of the last average salary for the remaining time to access the legal pension. As well as continuity in the Complementary Health Plan for the worker and his basic family group, and coverage in the group policies offered by the company.
As for the second option, corresponding to those employees who are more than three years away from the old-age pension, the company specified that there will be a non-salary bonus equivalent to the value of the legal compensation for termination of the employment contract without just cause. Likewise, a sum of money equivalent to three basic or variable salaries (if applicable), and three months of coverage in the EPS and the complementary plan for the basic family group (in money, added to the retirement bonus).
Therefore, The paper industry in Colombia faces a serious crisis that affects both companies and the forest economy. For example, the National Federation of Wood Industries (Fedemaderas) warned about the situation, highlighting that forestry, wood extraction, wood processing, pulp, paper and cardboard activities, as well as furniture manufacturing, have experienced declines. significant during the first quarter of the year. These sectors decreased by 12.8%, 3.2% and 8.3%, respectively.
Despite the warnings, Unions in the sector assured that President Gustavo Petro has not paid enough attention to the union, which has led companies such as Propal, part of the Carvajal group, to take drastic measures. In addition, the Colombian Association of the Graphic Communication Industry (Andigraf) has reported that the graphic sector also faces a shortage of paper and cardboard. The crisis, aggravated by the pandemic and supply problems, has impacted paper prices in the country.
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