The conflict in National Beer Factories (FNC) seems to have come to an end after the signing of a pre-agreement between the company and the union, endorsed in the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS).
After the meeting at MTSS, the authorities of the beer company and members of the Federation of Beverage Workers and Employees (FOEB) agreed to avoid the closure of the plant Mines, which was scheduled to start next Monday, July 1.
The agreement involves the reopening of the plant located in Lavalleja with 60% of the 150 workers it previously employed. However, the proposal will be communicated in the assembly by the FOEB on Monday, in a new step prior to the signing of an agreement.
It is worth remembering that a week ago there was still uncertainty, according to the president of the beverage union, Fernando Ferreira, who considered that at that time the negotiating tables were stagnant.
The details of the agreement
The head of the MTSS, Mario Arizti, He specified in dialogue with Subrayado that “a pre-agreement subject to the approval of the workers’ assembly” was signed and clarified: “The assembly still needs to accept the pre-agreement next week and it becomes a collective agreement”.
If this happens, Arizti indicated that the company will resume operations starting in August with the staff reinstatement. On this point, he explained: “60% of the workers remain working and the plant remains operational.”
Regarding those who will not resume tasks, the minister raised the possibility of “incentivized retirement.” “It is useful for those who present themselves and find it attractive or for the personnel who are close to the retirement”, he posed.
FNC accused a competitiveness problem
The decision to close the Minas plant was communicated by FNC at the beginning of May, stating that there are problems of competitiveness, among which they mentioned “the High costs of production of Uruguay compared to other countries in the region.”
In a statement, the company also referred to “the growing import of cans low-cost products that reach values that are impossible to match with the current conditions for the national industry”, as well as “the smallest scale of local production and low productivity”.
Finally, FNC considered that “the tax pressure It is especially distorting in returnable beers” and maintained that there is an idle capacity of more than 50%, a combination that made the situation “unsustainable,” they argued.
