The historic industrial company Sutoki in Vitoria-Gasteiz is going through one of its most delicate moments, with the future of its employees hanging in the balance. A total of 18 workers (down from 20 just a few weeks ago) are affected by a one-year ERTE (Temporary Employment Regulation File) that began on March 23.
According to the workers, behind this situation is the strategy of the RTS group, owner of the plant, which has intensified the transfer of production to China in recent years. In a statement issued on April 2, the committee denounced that the RTS group has applied a "severe" ERTE exclusively at the Vitoria-Gasteiz plant, following a "continuous delocalization" of parts to the factory the group has in the Asian country.
They are unfairly pressuring us to achieve a silent closure.
Although they acknowledge that the group's situation is complicated, the workers highlight the "paradox" that all measures fall solely on Sutoki, without proposing alternatives that guarantee the workload or the future viability of the Álava plant. In the last three years, this policy has reduced the workforce by half. Furthermore, the ERTE, which contemplates up to three weeks a month without activity, has been applied without agreement with the social party and with layoffs included during the negotiation.
Sutoki, founded in 1979 and acquired by RTS in 2000, is part of the group dedicated to manufacturing steering and suspension components for the automotive aftermarket. The group has three plants: RTS Mendaro (Gipuzkoa), with about 120 workers; Sutoki, in Vitoria-Gasteiz, with 20 employees until a few weeks ago; and RTS Jinhua, in China, with around 125 workers. However, the ERTE exclusively affects the Vitoria-Gasteiz plant.
They sold us the Basque label while sending our parts to be manufactured in China.
The workforce, with an average age between 50 and 60 years and decades of experience in hard and demanding work, has expressed concern about the future. They have recalled the sacrifices made since the 2008 crisis, such as salary freezes and labor flexibility, and have lamented the lack of dialogue with the ownership. The political group Elkarrekin Podemos has requested the appearance of Sutoki workers before the General Assemblies of Álava to explain their situation.
We only ask them to support us. We believe we have earned it after leaving half our bodies here for more than thirty years.
The workers send a clear message, as the fear that a company with almost half a century of history in Vitoria-Gasteiz will disappear is more present than ever.
