A manifesto signed by up to thirty entities and associations is the latest action that the business sector of Castellón has activated to put pressure on the central government in its request for more help. This morning, led by CEV Castellón, they have delivered to the Valencian president Ximo Puig the “Manifesto for the maintenance of the economy of Castellón” at the Palau de la Generalitat, a text that appeals directly to the Government of Pedro Sánchez to make the arrival of direct aid to the sector, suffocated by an energy cost that has already skyrocketed to 2,000 million euros.
“We cannot consent to the deindustrialization of Castellón”, declared Luis MartÃ, president of CEV Castellón, who appeared accompanied by representatives of the signatory entities in an image of unity that also included president Ximo Puig as well as the general secretary of CCOO-PV, Ana GarcÃa Alcolea, and that of UGT-PV, Ismael Sáez.
“Ceramics have never been subsidized but now is the time for aid”, the head of the Consell has had an impact, who has reiterated, as he has been doing for months, an “exceptionality to make it possible for the aid to arrive, beyond the fact that they continue insufficient, so that they arrive in time and form because the situation of the companies is that they need them now”.
The Manifesto will be presented tomorrow afternoon at the Ministry of Industry, which recently passed into the hands of Héctor Gómez after the departure of Reyes Maroto. The latter already explained a few months ago during a visit to Castelló de la Plana that the rules had to be complied with, in relation to compliance with the Late Payment Law that includes the Create and Grow Law, the brake for aid to reach companies ceramics. The aid would be, explained the president of the Generalitat Valenciana, mainly to “pay suppliers.”
For his part, President Puig explained that depending on who he talks to about the Executive, “the feedback is different” to the questions from journalists. And it is that Puig has asked the central government several times to make an exception with the industrial sector, but without success.
Today he has also shown himself alongside the sector, a gesture that Luis MartÃ, president of CEV Castellón, has thanked, who has said that “we need the Valencian Community, but we also need the State”. Above all, he has detailed, to compete in the international market, since the tile maker from Castellón is the fourth largest producer in the world and the second most exporter worldwide. 97% of all Spanish tile is produced in Castellón and competes mainly with Italian, Chinese and American ceramics.
The SOS cry launched by the sector is based not only on business viability, but also on the domino effect in the city and the province. There are 73,000 jobs linked to ceramics out of a total of 210,000 jobs in Castelló and to the ERE and ERTE currently in force, business relocation could be added, another of the risks that they have put on the table.
