Autoeuropa suspends two shifts due to lack of workers
With the closure of schools, many workers will stay at home to accompany their children. Autoeuropa has therefore decided to suspend work in two shifts.
Autoeuropa, the Volkswagen unit that is Portugal’s largest manufacturing plant, decided to suspend work on Monday’s night and morning shifts because many workers are staying at home with their children due to the closure of schools, the Workers’ Committee told Lusa on Sunday.
“The company told us today [Sunday] that the night shifts (starting at midnight) and the morning shifts (7.45 a.m.) on Monday would not start due to lack of personnel,” the coordinator of the Workers Commission, Fausto Dionísio said .
“On Monday, the company will try a reorganisation plan to see under what conditions and when it will be possible to resume work,” Fausto Dionisio said, recalling that at the Volkswagen car factory in Palmela there are many young workers who have children under 12 years old and that many of them will have to stay with their children due to the closure of educational establishments.
On Thursday, the government said that all schools will suspend classroom activities from Monday due to the outbreak of Covid-19.
Several universities and other schools had already decided to suspend teaching activities.
The government has also decided to grant justified absences to employees or self-employed workers who must stay at home with their children up to 12 years of age due to the closure of the schools to stop the Covid-19 pandemic.
The novel coronavirus responsible for the Covid-19 pandemic was detected in December in China and has already caused more than 6,400 deaths worldwide.
In Portugal, the Directorate General for Health (DGS) on Sunday raised the number of confirmed cases of infection to 245, 76 more than registered on Saturday.
