The wood factory of the Samvaz company in Châtel-Saint-Denis is still stopped. The twenty employees continued on Monday the strike started on Friday. The strikers are demanding a better social plan related to the closure of their factory.
“The strike continues indeterminately, but we are ready to discuss with management. We would like to avoid a stack in the situation, and this is also the case of the State”, which now proposed its good offices as a facilitator, explained Monday in Keystone-Ats Yannick Ferrari, member of the management of Unia Friborg.
The union also alerted the employers’ association of the wood industry to explain to them that a long -term strike could give a bad image. An evening of support for the strikers is scheduled for Wednesday evening with cantonal and local elected officials and with the hope of the presence of Pierre-Yves Maillard, president of the Swiss union union.
The strikers also tried to join their cause on Monday the thirty employees of the Samvaz metal factory on Metal, not affected by the closure, on Monday. “Metal workers are united but have not signed the petition, for fear of the consequences,” added Yannick Ferrari. The text can now be signed online by everyone.
“We have the impression that the company wishes to close as quickly as possible. It made a compensation proposal to employees with an end of contract at the end of July instead of the end of September,” said the trade unionist.
The staff considered that this new proposal did not cover the two months’ salary and lost social contributions and that they exposed them to a loss of unemployment benefits for two months – which Samvaz disputes. This prompted employees to go on strike.
Of the 32 employees affected by the closure of the factory due to an unfavorable situation in the wood sector, five have found a place internally or at a partner. Unia represents the other 27 people, among whom many were absent on Monday due to vacation, accident or illness.
In a statement released on Friday, Samvaz’s management said they regretted that no agreement could be found for the employees concerned, “despite several successive social plans proposals made on a voluntary basis.”
The company had explained “that it was not required to offer a social plan, but that its repeated efforts bear witness to its sincere desire to support employees impacted in a fair and responsible manner.” She therefore added that the plan initially proposed, dated March 12, therefore remains applicable (end of work reports on September 30).
ATS / Radior. – Writing