MP proposes to Caoa Chery compensation of up to 20 salaries for layoffs

The MPT-SP (Ministry of Labor of São Paulo) proposed to the automaker Caoa Chery the payment of up to 20 individual compensation salaries to reduce the social impact caused by the dismissal of more than 480 employees at the factory in Jacareí (80 km from SP) .

The company announced the dismissal of workers after deciding to temporarily close the unit. Since March, employees have been on paid leave.

The suggestion was presented this Friday (20) at a conciliation hearing between the automaker and the Metalworkers Union of São José dos Campos e Região, with mediation by the MPT. A new meeting was scheduled for Monday (23). The union asks the company to accept the lay-off (temporary suspension of employment contracts) already approved in the assembly.

According to the MPT, during the hearing, the automaker’s representatives said that the lay-off concession comes up against a “legal impediment”, and that accepting the proposal would represent a “fraud to the government”. By law, the lay-off is used in times of economic crisis. The workers are placed at home, but they need to take training courses. The government pays part of the salaries. The company bears another part.

The automaker’s initial proposal presented to the union was for compensation of up to 15 salaries for employees with more than five years of registration, in addition to severance pay for the termination of contracts. The salary limit for the calculation is R$ 5,000.

Prosecutor Celeste Maria Ramos Marques Medeiros, who led the mediation, proposed that Caoa Chery pay dismissed workers an individual compensation that includes a period of 20 salaries for those who leave in the first month, with a reduction of one salary each month up to 15 salaries. for whoever leaves later.

The MPT proposal also contains the maintenance of health and dental plans, and meal vouchers for a period of not less than 18 months (one and a half years). In addition, it asks for a commitment that, when reopening the unit, as Caoa Chery reported in May that it intends to do, the company prioritizes the hiring of workers who are laid off when production of electric cars begins.

Another point suggested is that the automaker offer training to employees interested in performing activities in the new plant, which will be able to produce hybrid and electric vehicles, and the preservation of legal and conventional stability in jobs.

The union insisted on granting temporary leave, arguing that there are several collective agreements concluded under identical conditions to the one presented to Chery.

“The union’s position remains the same, that it has to have the lay-off, because that’s what the company had agreed on”, says the union president, Weller Gonçalves.

According to the entity, the company accepted the lay-off agreement during a meeting held on May 10, as stated in a minute released by the entity.

Gonçalves says he agrees with the proposal for social compensation presented by the MTP, but defends the possibility of the worker choosing compensation or maintaining the job. “We are not ruling out compensation, but the lay-off must be maintained for those who want to stay.”

In a statement, the company reported that “Caoa Chery does not comment on legal matters”.

Jacarei unit is the first outside of China

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 stated 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.