The tire factory that the Pirelli firm has in Merlo stopped its production in the last hours, affected by the lack of supplies for production and an extended union conflict. Thus, it joined Bridgestone and Fate, in a crisis situation that affects the industry as a whole: at this time, there is not a single plant that is manufacturing wheels in the entire country.
Pirelli joins the closure that the Japanese Bridgestone had announced last week. “As is public knowledge, (the company) continues to face prolonged union negotiations with the Single Union of Tire Workers (SUTNA) within the framework of the 2021/2022 peer review,” the Asian company starts in a statement published on Friday. .
“(We have) decided to temporarily close all operations in Argentina to protect each person who makes up our team and guarantee the integrity of our property,” they explained from Bridgestone.
The closure, although temporary, is without a date for the resumption of activities. “Although it has not yet been determined when we will be able to resume operations, we will do so when we can guarantee the safety of all collaborators,” added the multinational.
Fate, the only one of the three companies that is locally owned, sent a document letter to SUTNA this Saturday where it demands that the forceful measures cease in order to resume activities.
All three companies face blockades at the doors of their factories. The new strike, decreed by the union “until further notice”, will last for at least five days. It is the longest measure of force of the almost 20 that have taken place since the conflict began in April.
The extreme union measures that put an entire industry in check are promoted by Alejandro Crespo, from the Single Union of Argentine Tire Workers (SUTNA), a left-wing leader and linked to the Workers’ Party, an intransigent who tensed the situation to the point of taking a floor of the Ministry of Labor.