Lowering the early retirement age in the Employment Regulation File plan that is being negotiated these weeks at Ford Almussafes was the main battle for the unions and it seems that now the agreement with the company is a little closer.
At the meeting this afternoon, the company’s management came up with a new proposal to present to the unions represented on the committee, UGT-PV and STM-Intersindical Valenciana, in which it does admit that employees aged 53 and 54 years of age in 2023 can take advantage of the early retirement plan.
The nuances of the proposal imply that workers who are 53 years old this year can take advantage of the ERE, charging 70% of the regulatory salary until the same month in which they turn 57 and 75% thereafter until they are 62 years old. The agreement entails assuming the special Social Security agreement until the employee reaches 61 years of age.
In the case of employees who are 54 years old in 2023, the conditions are identical, except for the maximum date for payment of gross income, which in this case is 63 years. The special Social Security agreement is maintained until the employee reaches 62 years of age. “The negotiation is at the point of increasing the age contribution and the salary percentage as well”, explained STM-Intersindical Valenciana, after this afternoon’s meeting.
In its balance after the meeting, UGT-PV, the majority union in the Almussafes factory, assessed that the company’s management today shows “its decision to move forward”, accepting a request that UGT-PV has transferred. However, although they appreciate that an option for employees aged 53 and 54 is included in the plan, they consider that “the conditions are insufficient and that they are too far from a future retirement at 63 years of age.”
The union recalls that if the management considers it “essential to include part of the younger workforce, it must offer amounts that really encourage enough.” Apparently, according to the same sources, the amounts will increase in his final proposal that could arrive tomorrow Tuesday, when the negotiating commission has been summoned again.
