The Metalworkers Union of São José do Campos e Região filed a lawsuit with the MPT-SP (Public Ministry of Labor of São Paulo) to try to reverse the dismissal of more than 480 workers at the Caoa Chery factory, in Jacareí (80 km from SP).
A mediation hearing between the union and the company was scheduled for this Friday (20). Activities at the unit’s plant were temporarily suspended due to a factory readjustment process. Since March, employees have been on paid leave.
According to the union, the objective is to make the company maintain the lay-off agreement (temporary suspension of employment contracts), which would have been accepted during a meeting held on May 10, and approved at a workers’ meeting on the same day. 11.
“After discussions, it was agreed that the company agrees to the implementation of a lay-off for five months (under the terms negotiated in February 2022), from June to October 2022, and job stability for three months, from November to January 2022. 2023”, says an excerpt from the minutes of the meeting held on the 10th, released by the union.
Through a note, Caoa Chery informed that it did not accept the lay-off proposal, as this work regime is intended for cases of suspension of activities with a rapid resumption of production and work. The company also claimed that the parties “are aware that they will not resume activities in a short period of time”.
Caoa also said that it proposed to the union entity the negotiation of compensation for workers, in addition to severance pay for the termination of contracts. The automaker offers compensation of up to 15 salaries for employees with more than five years of registration. The salary limit for the calculation is R$ 5,000.
Employees who have between two and five years in the company would receive compensation of ten salaries, and, for those with less than two years of service, the compensation would be seven salaries. The automaker did not say, however, how many should be laid off. In all, the company currently has about 600 employees.
“This attitude of Caoa Chery is extremely serious. The company is breaking an agreement already approved in the assembly. The workers will not accept this affront. , union president Weller Gonçalves said in a statement.
First unit outside China announces closure
Opened in 2014, the Chery factory in Jacareí was the automaker’s first outside China and produces the Tiggo 3x and Arrizo 6 Pro vehicles. In addition to the Jacareí unit, the company has another factory, in Anápolis (GO), where Hyundai and Chery models are assembled.
The closing of the place was announced on May 5, with the announcement of layoffs, but without detailing numbers. At the time, the union reported that the automaker had informed the cut of all workers on the production line, totaling 370 layoffs, and would also dismiss 50% of the employees in the administrative sector, putting 115 professionals on the street. The other 115 in the sector would be relocated.
According to the automaker, the factory will undergo changes to produce hybrid and electric vehicles. “Attentive to global demands in relation to sustainable mobility, the automaker is committed to Brazil and its consumers to electrify all models in its portfolio by the end of 2023,” he said in a previous note.
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