The general secretary of UGT PV, Ismael Sáez, and the secretary of UGT FICA PV, Darío Argente, have been “optimistic” regarding the future of the Ford factory in Almussafes (Valencia) and hope that “soon” the multinational will “award hybrids that allow maintaining the workload” in the factory while deciding on electrification.

This was stated at a press conference during the ‘Transformation of the automotive sector’ conference. Working for a fair and orderly transition’ that the union has organized in Valencia.

Argente has pointed out that the electric car “has had a hiatus because there are other technologies that have advanced such as hydrogen or other fuels.” “We have all the confidence in the world that we will soon have an alternative, which is not electric at the moment but is hybrid, where it will give it a future and extend in that sense the possibility of having an electric or non-electric car in the future,” he indicated.

On the same day, the general secretary of UGT, Pepe Álvarez, has called for a “great political commitment” that favors the transformation of the automobile sector towards electrification, from the promotion of industrial activity to incentives for the purchase or regulation of the charging points.

“The importance of the sector is transcendent due to the employment it generates, because it represents close to 10% of the GDP and for that reason alone it is worth working for its future. We are the eighth largest automobile producing country and 85% of what we produce is exports,” he noted.

“Now we face the most important reconversion process in the history of the automobile, we do it with the support of PERTE, but we need the Government to have its feet on the ground. We do not have any Spanish automobile multinational and there is debate about the dates for the definitive decarbonization; sometimes – he lamented – I have the feeling that the cart is ahead of the oxen, because there are objectives that will not be able to be met due to the lack of infrastructure.

In this sense, the leader of UGT has asked himself: “Why do we have to download the application of each electric company that supplies energy to the charging stations on our mobile phones? Why can’t I pay with my card and do they have to have my data from those companies? There should be legislation on this.”

Likewise, he has warned about the complexities involved in providing each private parking space with a charging point. “All of this requires a great political commitment that links city councils, autonomous communities and the central government – he pointed out – because it is a sector that gives a lot of money to Spain.”

Álvarez has thanked the work of the previous Valencian executive, the one led by Ximo Puig, “for bringing the Sagunto battery factory”, in the sense of its potential capacity to absorb the excess of workers that may be produced in the traditional manufacturing sector. car. “We know that producing an electric car requires 30% less employment than a combustion car,” he added in this regard.

The general secretary of the UGT industry sector, Mariano Hoya, has emphasized that message: “We are in a moment of challenges and opportunities, we must bravely face the future and ensure that the transition is fair and orderly.”

“Robotization and digitalization inexorably require the distribution of work. We propose a 32-hour week, we need a training commitment, making the sector attractive to young people, developing the charging network or encouraging the purchase of these vehicles,” he added.

Hoya has “applauded” the PERTE I and II, but has warned that they “suffer from little flexibility”, which is why he has asked that this be corrected in a “PERTE III which is essential”.

For his part, the general secretary of UGT in the Valencian Community, Ismael Sáez, has indicated that he would like “the model represented by Seat in Barcelona or Ford in Almussafes to be rerouted in the Volkswagen gigafactory in Sagunt, with serious union action , committed, rigorous and without demagogy”.