This Wednesday, the committee met in Vitoria-Gasteiz with the vice-minister and announced two more meetings for next week: one with Tubos management, and another with the Department of Industry and the Provincial Council of Álava, scheduled for April 16. During the meeting, about a hundred workers gathered outside the Lakua building.
Oier Bidaurratzaga, a union delegate for LAB, explained that the vice-minister offered her mediation, similar to an unsuccessful attempt by the Labor Department during last year's gardeners' strike in Vitoria-Gasteiz. However, the committee responded that the solution to the conflict involves withdrawing the ERE (Employment Regulation File) and maintaining the steelworks and logistics in Amurrio, conditions they have held since the conflict's inception and reiterated in their last meeting in Bilbao.
It is necessary to combine efforts to guarantee future viability.
Unions denounce that pressure is being placed on workers, the committee, and certain unions, while the company, which proposes a layoff plan, closure of the steelworks, and outsourcing of logistics, does not face the same demands. Currently, there is no new information regarding the labor inspection report, debt restructuring, or potential investors.
Three unions, ELA, LAB, and ESK, have already announced a legal challenge to the ERE, which includes 242 redundancies, although the labor inspection report is still pending. The vice-minister, for her part, stated that the Labor Inspectorate's report would be rigorous and offered her availability to mediate and seek an agreement that allows the steelworks to be maintained. She emphasized that the company is in a delicate situation and that efforts must be combined to ensure future viability in the Ayala valley.
