- “This meeting responds to the commitment I made a few days ago with the workers and the whole society of Cartagena to maintain jobs and industrial activity in the Region,” he said at a press conference.
- The government delegate today chaired a meeting with the Special Commissioner for Reindustrialization of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, the secretaries-general of UGT and CCOO in the Region of Murcia and representatives of the auxiliary companies
- He has subsequently received the members of the Company Committee of the company
The government delegate announced today that next Thursday will be the first meeting of the Dialogue Table between the Ministry of Industry and the owners of SABIC to look for alternatives to the closure of the Cartagena plant and thus avoid mass layoffs.
“The Spanish Government is leading the search for alternatives to the plans announced by the company a few weeks ago. And for this reason, as I promised myself here just fifteen days ago, I can announce with satisfaction that the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, will receive next Thursday in the Ministry the owners of SABIC to continue exploring alternatives that guarantee employment and industrial activity in the Region of Cartagena,” he announced.
Francisco Lucas made the announcement after meeting in the office of the Government Delegation in Cartagena with the Special Commissioner for Reindustrialization of the Ministry of Industry, Jaime Peris, the secretaries-general of Workers’ Commissions and UGT in the Region of Murcia, Paqui Sánchez and Teresa Fuentes, and trade union representatives of the auxiliary companies.
“Our goal is clear. Avoid the closure of the plant and the mass dismissal of thousands of workers. The Region of Campo de Cartagena and the Region of Murcia needs to maintain industrial activity”, he insisted in his appearance.
Lucas has increased the Commissioner’s presence in Cartagena to take a first-hand interest in the situation, and has stressed that the closure of the plant would also have a direct effect on auxiliary companies, with the dismissal of thousands of workers, on whom thousands of families depend.
“We will try by all means to guarantee industrial activity at the SABIC plant in Cartagena, avoid redundancies and, in any case, promote alternatives of reindustrialization for the area,” he concluded.
Jaime Peris has indicated that the Chemistry sector is strategic for the Government of Spain after the geopolitical and health crises of recent years. “Therefore, from the Ministry we want to apply the fight against the relocation of the company, that is, try to ensure that the employment regulation that has been consolidated does not remain simply a labor issue, but that the company assumes the commitment to reindustrialization,” he said.
