The historic plant, operational since 1939, will close its doors on January 1. Reports of emptying, layoffs, disputes with the union and a possible transfer.
The plant Danica located in the town of Llavallol, province of Buenos Aires, an industrial emblem in the area since 1939, faces the end of its operations scheduled for next January 1. The decision, made by Beltran Groupowner of the company since 2018, is part of the decrease in demand and economic problems of the company. The measure would leave 150 workers without jobs.
The union representatives of the Union of Workers and Employees of the Oil Industry (SOEIA) accuse the Beltrán Group of having carried out a progressive emptying of the plant. According to the union, the company had stopped supplying key inputs and spare parts, which paralyzed production. This strategy, added to the implementation of voluntary withdrawals and the transfer of merchandise to other headquarters, reinforces suspicions that the intention would be to centralize operations in its Córdoba plant.
In this context, this Thursday the union will once again have a hearing with the company because it ultimately seeks to reverse the closure decision and resume activities. Something that at the moment does not seem to be an option for the Beltrán Group.
The climate of tension increased when the company proposed compensating the dismissed workers with half of what the law stipulates, relying on the decrease in demand as a cause not attributable to the employer. Given the rejection of the employees and after several hearings at the Ministry of Labor of the province of Buenos Aires, it was possible for the Beltrán Group to agree to pay the entire compensation, although divided into installments, which does not fully satisfy the expectations of the workers.
The Beltrán Group, known mainly for being one of the main nationally owned slaughterhouses with eight meat processing plants, acquired Dánica in 2018 with the promise of revitalizing the brand. However, since then, employees have reported a series of labor disputes which include attempts to change the collective agreement from oil producers to that of food producers, with less beneficial working conditions. This pattern was already applied at the Córdoba plant, where the company closed and reopened, hiring new workers under a different agreement.
As background, the company closed another of its plants located in the province of San Luis in November of last year and at that time it blamed the union and the lack of provincial support to sustain sources of work.
The truth is that The situation in Dánica reflects a broader problem in the Argentine industrial sector, where companies seek to reduce labor costs in a challenging economic context, while workers fight to maintain their rights and working conditions.
As the closing date approaches, uncertainty and discontent grows among employees and the Llavallol community. The lack of clarity about the future of workers and the economic impact on the region raises questions about industrial and labor policies in Argentina.
Source: Ambito
