The Bloco de Esquerda (BE) questioned the Minister of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security about the closure of a bakery in Caminha that “left about 65 workers completely unprotected” due to the covid-19 pandemic, it was announced today.
In a question to which the Lusa agency had access, the deputies of BE José Soeiro and Isabel Pires, say they had knowledge of “a collective dismissal of 65 workers and the total closure of the company Panificados Unidos do Concelho de Caminha, Lda.”.
The deputies add that “Camipão, founded in 1973, is headquartered in Sandia, in Vila Praia de Âncora, and has 11 stores in the municipalities of Caminha and Vila Nova de Cerveira”, in the district of Viana do Castelo.
“According to reports that came to the attention of the BE parliamentary group, the company was going through some financial difficulties, with salaries, holiday and Christmas subsidies in arrears. However, nobody predicted that the company would close its doors overnight, ”refer the BE deputies, adding that“ at a recent shareholders’ meeting, held on the 11th, it was transmitted that the situation was stable and that nobody should be concerned ”.
BE said that “the company’s management has not only decided to move to dismiss all workers without any prior notice, but also refuses to pass on the declaration of unemployment to workers, thus jeopardizing the survival of these and their employees. families ”.
“This type of practice on the part of the management of this company reveals a cruelty towards workers and disregard for labor rights that is unacceptable in a society of the 21st century”, they argue.
BE wants to know “if the Government is aware of the situation and if the tutelage is available to analyze with the company, in the framework of the extraordinary support to companies granted in the context of the covid-19 pandemic, a solution that allows its viability and the maintenance of jobs ”.
The party also questions about “the measures that the Government intends to adopt, as a matter of urgency, so that these workers quickly have, at a minimum, access to unemployment benefits or other social protection measures consistent with the situation described”.
Lusa tried, unsuccessfully, to contact the company administrator, José Presa, who, in the last municipal elections, was elected PSD councilor in the Câmara de Caminha, a term that he would suspend, in May 2019, for one year.
Contacted by Lusa, the mayor, the socialist Miguel Alves, said he could not confirm the closure, adding that “on Wednesday Camipão suspended the production of bread and closed the stores due to uneasiness and discomfort among employees”.
“The city council had to find another company to supply the bread to serve students and families in need in the municipality to whom the municipality is providing meals in this pandemic period of the covid-19. We were notified less than 24 hours before the suspension of the work ”, he explained.
The president of the Vila Praia de Âncora Parish Council, the social-democrat Carlos Castro, said he was unaware of the situation, despite noting that the closing notice was posted on the door of a company store.
The new coronavirus, responsible for the covid-19 pandemic, has already infected 505,000 more people worldwide, of whom about 23,000 have died.
After appearing in China in December, the outbreak spread across the world, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a pandemic.
In Portugal, there were 60 deaths and 3,544 confirmed infections, according to the balance made today by the Directorate-General for Health, which identified 549 new cases compared to Wednesday.
–
