São Paulo – Workers at Ford in Taubaté, in the Paraíba Valley, in the interior of the state of São Paulo, rejected a proposal this Wednesday (3) for compensation for the closure of the company’s activities in Brazil, announced 25 days ago. According to the Metalworkers Union of the region (Sindmetau), the objective is to insist on maintaining the factory.

“It is the job of fathers and mothers of families that is at risk. We will fight until the last minute to reverse this situation ”, stated the union coordinator at Ford, Sinvaldo Cruz. “We placed an order, and we are waiting for a positioning of the factory, to discuss with the global president of Ford. Because we still hope that it can be reversed, ”he added.

The Ford unit in Taubaté, which produces engines and gearboxes, has approximately 830 direct employees. But the coordinator cites Dieese’s estimate that almost 120 thousand jobs can be reached in the country. In the specific case of Ford, the closing decision also affects the factories in Camaçari (BA) and Horizonte (CE).

The rejected proposal provided for compensation equivalent to 1.1 salary per year worked for hourly employees (linked to production). For monthly (administrative), 0.7 salary. The union says that these values ​​are below what employees would receive until the end of this year, between salaries and benefits. By agreement, they are stable until December 31.

“In other words, it would be as if the indemnity were just the anticipation of the values ​​for the months from February to December”, commented Sidivaldo Borges, union representative at Ford. “But what workers are looking for at this moment is not an indemnity, but the reversal of the automaker’s decision.”