Tubacex’s workers’ representatives and management team met yesterday, 31 August, to negotiate the terms of the new Temporary Employment Regulation Dossier (ERTE). The workers in Llodio and Amurrio have been on strike for over 200 days, which would be the fourth regulatory dossier that could be adopted in this case. It would apply to staff between 11 September and 31 December, once the current one has been exhausted until 10 December.

The dossier would be applied due to the fall in demand resulting from the coronavirus crisis and would regulate up to 70% of the day. It would also apply to all workers: to those who have so far been regulated, to the 129 workers that the company intends to lay off and to those who have been readmitted by court judgment.

The chairman of the works council and ELA representative, Eduardo Ibernia, has described the motion for a resolution as "logical". However, the threat of dismissal remains there: "At the moment, there is no movement in the sector, and the strike will continue," he added. According to the president of the EFE agency, the exit of workers from the ArcelorMittal plant should be addressed by means of measures. Employment regulation (ERE) dossiers should be approved with "non-traumatic" measures (pre-retirement and voluntary leave) and, in order to avoid redundancies, take interim measures such as the ERTE.

The meeting on 31 August has taken the first steps in the negotiations, although more meetings are planned in the coming days to agree on the conditions. The workers and the management will meet again on Friday, 6 and 7 September, to finalise the details of the regulation to be developed in the Basque Country.

Multinational recourse maintenance companies

Despite the negotiations, the trade unions fear that there will be no more redundancies in the Basque Autonomous Community. Last July, the Basque National Court robbed the mass layoffs that Tubacex intended to make were illegal, but the multinational filed an appeal against the Supreme’s decision. Tubacex has announced that it will maintain its complaint about the death of the young Sevillian woman in 2007. Despite the fact that the implementation of the new EBAAA is a step forward, the trade unions intend to obtain a guarantee of the withdrawal of this appeal, which would prevent the decisions taken from being subsequently revoked by a judge.

Failure to comply with the decision of the Court

With the July agreements, the company did not fulfil its word despite the fact that the employees who had dismissed the management had forced it to reaccept it. He paid wages to the workers, but he didn't let them go back to their jobs.

Tubacex said it would gradually incorporate the workers when they were threatened with continuing the strike. However, Aiaraldea has denounced that in mid-August workers who were to be welcomed have not yet been discharged from the Social Security Service.