The National Union of Workers and Transport Workers (Unott) declared itself in a state of alert regarding the salary debt that the company Copsa maintains with its workers, in the midst of a crisis in the sector throughout Uruguay. From the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MTOP) They confirm that the company has the resources to meet its obligations, but some financing alternative is also being studied.
“With great concern we are informed that Copsa workers have been notified of the company’s insolvency for the payment of salaries for the month of March. This adds to the historical breaches of salary debts and agreements, but the situation is extremely serious, it is reaching a point of no return,” the Interdepartmental Transportation Coordinator notified on Wednesday, when the conflict began to become public.
Yesterday there was a meeting between the parties involved in the Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS)without any result for the more than 800 affected workers who are owed half a March salary, as well as other amounts in compensation. bonus and vacation salary since 2021.
According to Copsa, the inability to meet his obligations is due to the fact that he had to pay a bill from the General Tax Directorate (DGI) and of Social Security Bank (BPS). However, Unott points out that no specific reasons were reported to the authorities to support the declared insolvency.
“It is a situation that is not new for us but it worries us because the representative of the Ministry of Transportation and we asked him if there was any different situation at Copsa, if less sales had been made. tickets, any change; and she tells me no, ahead of the company, that March ticket sales were good. The company confirms to us that it has more than 200 fewer workers than before the pandemic and yet it does not have the funds to pay,” explained the Unott leader. Miguel Marrero to Radio Monte Carlo.
Likewise, the union member pointed out that Copsa states that “they continue to make a claim to the Ministry of Transportationwith which we have no objection because it is a business issue,” in relation to the company’s argument that the fee current is not enough to cover the costs. “What we are saying is that they cannot take workers and users hostage for this claim,” added the union leader.
Even though the entire transportation sector is going through a crisis Due to the degradation of the service in recent years, “the only one that does not pay is Copsa,” said Marrero. In that sense, he confirmed that Unott has not ruled out any measure, since the company did not even present a payment formula of wages owed.
On the other hand, the MTOP studies the possibility of providing a loan Copsa to pay salaries, a possibility that is being analyzed jointly with the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and the Office of Planning and Budget (OPP). “It would be a preview of a escrow bigger for the entire sector,” explained Marrero, who described the measure as “a hand to save this very complicated moment.”
Source: Ambito
