La Lácteo cannot get out of a crisis that seems to be getting deeper.
In bankruptcy since 2018, its 129 workers stopped their work at the beginning of the year due to lack of payment.
The company’s management argues that the “fall in demand and problems importing inputs” make its operation difficult.
According to sources from inside the Ferreyra plant, 80 employees earn between $150,000 and $200,000 weekly but are still owed for several months, just like in Villa del Rosario, where 20 workers have not received salaries since January.
Leonardo Melgarejo, one of the union delegates, drew a crude panorama.
“The situation is very uncertain. We know what position we are in. Between the Ferreyra plant and the Villa del Rosario plant there are 100 colleagues who are working and another 20 who have been left out. Today the company has a low volume of milk, about 40 thousand a day, when in December it processed 120 thousand liters,” he said.
In statements to radio Miter, Melgarejo delved into the payment method. “Payments are made in black, in cash. We do not have money transfer, they are done through the treasury or in the guard. “It is something unprecedented,” he added.
Meanwhile, an employee who requested anonymity told The voice: “They tell us almost nothing about the future. That we are slowly returning to the level of activity, and that if they do not pay for milk and supplies they cannot make the wheel turn. And they leave salaries for last. There are many people who have not yet earned a peso this month. They pay how they want. “You can’t make forecasts because they don’t give you an idea of when and how much they will pay you.”
Chronology of a serious conflict
The chronology of the crisis marks its beginning in January when the company failed to fulfill its promise to pay December salaries to 129 employees.
The lack of payments to suppliers caused the supply of raw materials to fall, drastically reducing production and making it difficult to market their products.
From the Association of Dairy Industry Workers of the Argentine Republic (Atilra), they detailed that in January, when the company paid approximately $40 thousand per week, the Ministry of Labor issued a “waiver” that allowed employees to do so. They wanted to continue working in the plants, while those who could not do so were exempt, according to the TN Campo portal.
However, employees still “carry debts corresponding to March, April and May”, while those exempted have not received payments since January and all have pending collection of an annual premium.
In Villa del Rosario, La Lácteo production was paralyzed due to a gas outage due to non-payment, according to the union. This situation further aggravates the crisis that the company is going through.
Before, La Lácteo had the capacity to process 180 thousand liters of milk per day; Now it is forced to operate with barely 40 thousand liters per day.
“This drastic reduction in production is the direct result of the financial problems facing the company,” which prevent it from acquiring inputs without immediately paying its suppliers, who refuse to offer extended terms.
