Chivite says that the BSH closure announcement has been “unexpected” and that the workforce is his “utmost concern”
PAMPLONA, December 16 () –
The appliance manufacturer BSH has announced the closure of its plant in Esquíroz (Navarra), which employs more than 660 workers, a decision of which it has informed the regional Executive by letter.
The president of the Government of Navarra, María Chivite, has highlighted that the announcement of the closure of the BSH factory in Esquíroz has been “unexpected” and has indicated that the company has informed her by letter that a six-month period of consultations, but that “it has not been specified what is going to happen at the plant.”
“Our greatest concern is the 660 workers”, who “will be our priority”, he assured.
The German company includes the appliance brands Bosch, Siemens, Gaggenau, Neff and Balay.
In statements to the media, Chivite explained that this Monday a letter was sent to her and to the Minister of Industry and the Ecological and Digital Business Transition in which the company reported the opening of a period of six months of consultations. “We don’t know what it means, because it hasn’t said that there will be a closure at the Navarra plant. That hasn’t been said,” he stressed.
Chivite has admitted that “we were aware, from meetings that had been held both with the works council and management, of concerns at the plant.” The president explained that “we tried to contact the management in Germany with different letters that we sent them” but “we never received a response.”
For his part, Irujo “has already requested a meeting with the management in Navarra to explain what the six months of the consultation period are, because we don’t know what is going to happen at the plant either. “It has not been specified what is going to happen at the plant.” The counselor has also requested to appear in the Parliament of Navarra “to give all the appropriate explanations.”
“Our priority is going to be the workers, and we will put all the resources on the table so that their situation is the best possible,” he stated.
María Chivite has criticized that this announcement was made “by letter.” “This is not usually common in the relationships that this Government has with companies, which are habitual, daily, continuous, in which if they have had difficulties they have known how to go to the Government. This has not been the case.” And he has insisted that “we will put workers first, because those are the jobs we want to save.”
For his part, the Minister of Industry and Ecological and Business Digital Transition of the Government of Navarra, Mikel Irujo, stated this Monday that the announcement of the closure of the BSH plant in Esquíroz, with 667 workers, a news that, according to what he said, the Navarrese Executive learned this morning.
MEETING WITH THE COMPANY AND THE UNIONS
Irujo has indicated that they have received the news in an “unexpected” way since “we have been in contact with the company, with the social part, and in fact in the summer months we already sent a formal communication to the multinational requesting contact with them to offer the availability of the Government of Navarra, any action that we could take that could allow the future and continuity of the company.
The counselor indicated that, given the new scenario, they have arranged a meeting with the management of the company in Navarra and added that “we are also going to do it with the social part, with the unions.”
“In this six-month period that is opening, what we have to do is work side by side with the company, with the workers to ensure its possible continuity, since we are dealing with a company with a high value of training and know-how, which we will have to explore and negotiate with the multinational itself so that all of this can be the subject of continuity in the future of the company,” he said.
Mikel Irujo has indicated that he has requested to appear in the Parliament of Navarra so that “we can explain all the movements and actions that we have undertaken and are going to undertake from the Government of Navarra.”
Add Comment