Africa-Press – Cape verde. The situation of ATUNLO workers has now been regularized. The measure represents a financial effort of around 35 thousand contos. Announcement made today by the Chairman of ENAPOR, Ireneu Camacho, at a meeting held with workers
The decision follows the taking over of the facilities of the Cold Platform, previously concessioned to ATUNLO CV, and includes, in addition to the payment of overdue salaries, the normalization of INPS coverage, and the monthly payment of salaries to workers until the operation resumes.
“We are in negotiations with the new private operator that we intend to manage the cold platform. We will continue to keep these employees’ salaries up to date (…) until a new private operator comes in”, he assures.
Regarding the financial amount involved in the process, Camacho does not provide details, but stresses the importance of the solution found to guarantee workers’ rights.
“Before going into specific figures, I would like to say that when ENAPOR takes its measures, it does so based on studies. The measure that was taken was very well studied, very well planned, and does not create any financial difficulties for the company. It is their right and a sub-concession contract was signed and this contract clearly states that ENAPOR must assume its responsibilities in these situations. Therefore, here, more than dictating figures, it is important to understand that the situations of ATUNLO employees, of these families, have been resolved as of today”, he says.
Regarding the new partner, the president of Enapor states that negotiations are still ongoing and that the expectation is that they will begin operations in May.
“We are currently negotiating with three operators. We are at a very conclusive stage of this process. We believe that in May we will sign a sub-concession contract for this platform, and we believe that by the end of the first half of the year we will be starting this activity.
The SIACSA coordinator, Heidy Ganeto, is pleased with the resolution of the workers’ problem, but points out that improving contractual conditions continues to be a challenge.
“We are satisfied with the way the process went and that it culminated in the closure of this first phase because we want the workers to be in their workplace, to guarantee jobs, especially on an island where the unemployment rate is very high and wages are not that great”, he highlights.
It is worth remembering that ATUNLO was inaugurated in 2015 as a European investment aimed at placing the archipelago at the forefront of fish exports. Activities were suspended a year ago, leaving around 200 families without wages or with wages in arrears.
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