In a statement, LAB indicated that during the meeting held at the Basque Government's headquarters in Vitoria-Gasteiz, the Department of Labor "far from providing certainty, once again demonstrated a lack of transparency" regarding the company's situation, which has presented an ERE (Employment Regulation File) involving the elimination of 285 jobs.
The union criticized the "worrying role" played by institutions and explained that, in the meeting with the Executive, it conveyed the "feeling among the workforce that, instead of demanding accountability from the company, pressure is being placed on the workers, the committee, and certain unions".
There is talk of responsibility, avoiding conflict, or not judicializing the process, but we are not seeing the same level of demand towards the company's management, which is the one that has put forward a plan based on layoffs, the closure of the steelworks, and the outsourcing of logistics.
In this regard, LAB stated that "the company's approach cannot be accepted as valid as if it were inevitable," adding that "a complex economic situation does not mean that any measure is justified, much less irreversible decisions that directly affect employment and the industrial future".
During the meeting, LAB demanded "transparency" on "key issues that remain unanswered," such as negotiations with SEPI, the "real" situation of debt refinancing, or the possible existence of investors. "These are fundamental elements to understand the current scenario, but to this day they remain shrouded in opacity," the union complained.
The strike is not the problem, but the direct consequence of the decisions adopted by the company.
Furthermore, it warned that "it is not acceptable to demand responsibility from the social side while basic information is not shared to allow for a rigorous analysis of the situation." It also emphasized that the indefinite strike maintained by the workforce "is not the problem, but the direct consequence of the decisions adopted by the company".
The union criticized the continued lack of "alternatives" for the company's future and denounced "the lack of involvement of other institutions." Following more than two weeks since meetings were requested, the Department of Industry and the Provincial Council of Álava have finally scheduled a meeting for April 16.
LAB believes that the response "has been late in relation to the seriousness of the conflict." After reiterating that it does not refuse to address the company's situation or seek solutions, it warned that it will not accept "that the only way out involves job destruction, the dismantling of the steelworks, and the outsourcing of strategic areas".
For all these reasons, it has demanded that institutions "stop putting pressure on the workforce and assume their rightful role: demanding that the company withdraw the measures, guaranteeing the transparency of the process, and promoting real negotiation, without blackmail or impositions." "What is at stake is not just a labor conflict, but the future of hundreds of families and an entire region," it concluded.
