Protesta contra despidos de Bridgestone: «Estamos hablando de vidas»
Around 3,500 people have joined this afternoon’s demonstration called to say ‘no’ to the dismissal of half of the Bridgestone workforce in Puente San Miguel as part of the Employment Regulation File (ERE) announced by the company, to which they have conveyed that, although for the company the workers «seem to be just numbers», behind them there are families.
«We are talking about lives, future projects, dreams, people,» they denounced in a demonstration against the «gesture of excessive greed» of a company that aims to «miserably increase its profits» and dismiss 211 workers in Puente San Miguel and 335 in Basauri despite having achieved «enormous profits» and received «various public aids».
The protest started at 6:00 p.m. from the factory, initially made up mainly of workers with their families, with many children also present, and it has been joined by more participants along the way, culminating in the Red Square in Torrelavega.
To protest against the 211 layoffs contemplated in the ERE in Puente San Miguel, as well as 335 in the Basauri plant, the demonstrators marched towards the center of the Besaya capital preceded by Local and National Police and led by a banner with the slogan ‘No one is surplus at Bridgestone, solutions are needed’.
Among those present were the mayors of Torrelavega and Reocín, the regionalists Javier López Estrada and Pablo Diestro, respectively, and the deputy and former Minister of Industry Javier López Marcano, all wearing the factory’s T-shirt.
Also present were the mayor of Cartes, the socialist Agustín Molleda, and the President of the Parliament, María José González Revuelta, among the numerous representatives of all political colors –PP, PRC, PSOE, Vox, Torrelavega Sí and Izquierda Unida-Podemos– who have attended the demonstration to show support for the affected workers and families in the Besaya region, along with deputies and councilors from various municipalities.
Although they did not chant any slogans, the route was marked by whistles, horns, colorful flares, and firecrackers, which increased in intensity as they approached the center of Torrelavega.
Along the way, many pedestrians waited on the sidewalks to watch the march or join it, and some even applauded from the balconies.
Among the banners, one could read at the forefront one with the inscription ‘No to layoffs’, another with the number 211 asking ‘What more do you need?’, and another of a child saying ‘Don’t lay off my mom’.
Some of the affected could not hide their emotions at moments like the arrival at the Red Square, where the route ended with a big applause and a manifesto was read in which the committee thanked all the support they are receiving from neighbors and companies in the region in this «very difficult» moment.
This gives them «strength» to negotiate «with even more determination». «It is very comforting to know that we are not alone,» said the committee president, Luis Ruiz Eguren.
As he pointed out, the «fight» that is now beginning is «against fear, against the greed of a few» who «do not hesitate to condemn precariousness to many workers and their surroundings». «Let’s turn fear and pride into energy and determination to face the uncertainty that awaits us. Together we are much stronger,» he claimed.
A WRONG PATH
Eguren lamented that Bridgestone is «probably going through the most difficult moment of its 60 years of existence» with this «massive process of job destruction», relocating part of the production to another plant of the company in Poland and «changing the sales strategy to a wrong path».
News that «has hit the workers and their families like a blow», because «for the company’s management, they all seem to be just numbers, seeking to miserably increase their profits».
Finally, they warned that if the layoffs proposed in the ERE are carried out, the factories «will be severely affected, with a very low production that could endanger their competitiveness». Therefore, «the company’s next step could be the closure of the plants, which we will not allow,» emphasized the committee president.
They demand that the impact of the ERE be «minimized as much as possible» and a viability plan for the near future be developed, «which is currently in doubt».
In addition to the loss of direct jobs, they emphasized that a number of positions will be destroyed «impossible to calculate, which would further impoverish the economy of the Besaya region,» due to the impact on subcontracted companies.
The demonstration – with 3,500 according to the National Police – took place on the first of the three general strike days called against the collective dismissal of half of the staff of the Bridgestone plants in Puente San Miguel and Basauri, which paralyzed the production of both factories on this Tuesday since, according to the union of the company’s committee (UGT-FICA, CCOO, BUB, and SITB), the support for the strike has been «total».
