The Government says the situation in Autoeuropa is “a risk” and asks for solutions

The Solidarity, Labor, and Social Security minister, José Vieira da Silva, consider the situation in Autoeuropa to be “a risk for the company” and urged workers and the administration to find solutions in the short-term.

More than 63% of workers from Autoeuropa have rejected the second preliminary agreement on the working schedule for the workers of the car factory located in Palmela. This Wednesday’s referendum had 3,145 votes against the agreement (63.22%) and 1,749 favorable votes.

The Labor minister stated, this Wednesday night, that the standstill in Autoeuropa is very negative. “This situation is obviously not positive (…) This is the worse situation for Autoeuropa. It is a risk for the company, it would be an illusion to state otherwise”, the minister stated.

Vieira da Silva recalled that this is “not the first time the agreements with Autoeuropa are affected by a referendum from workers”, but it has always been possible to negotiate and find solutions. According to the governor, “we don’t have a lot of time and we must find a solution in the short-term”.

“We ask all parties to work with employees in order to make decisions that value the importance of this agreement for the future of Autoeuropa, of the region, of the country, of those workers and their families, because this is indeed a future project that we are now discussing”, Vieira da Silva highlighted. The minister for the Economy, Caldeira Cabral,also stated a solution must be found. “I hope there is a sense of responsibility and that we can still find a solution”, the minister stated.

The preliminary agreement rejected this Wednesday established the terms for the work on Saturday and continuous labor (three daily shifts), which should begin after the Summer vacation in August of 2018, aiming to assure the production estimate of the new vehicle in Palmela, the T-Roc.