The largest factory in the Valencian Community, the Ford facilities in Almussafes (Valencia), has sealed what will be its new labor framework in principle until the end of 2026. The representatives of Ford and UGT have signed this morning the labor agreement for 5 years , although .
In fact, the new agreement includes the points of the agreement reached at the end of January by both the UGT and the European management of Ford for the electrification of the Spanish plant, which employs about 6,200 workers. Basically, they guarantee the company to shield future salary increases from the effects of runaway inflation and also extend working hours and be able to extend the days scheduled per year if demand requires it.
The agreement between the majority union UGT and the company contemplates that during the next four years the wages . The salary increase would be 1,000 euros this year, 1,500 euros in 2023, 2,000 euros in 2024 and 2,500 euros in 2025, which would not be consolidated in the salary tables. In 2026 the rise linked to the CPI would be recovered.
A measure with which both the company and UGT consider that the factory will be able to weather the next few years in which the production of the plant is expected to decline, given the disappearance of several of its current models, except for the Kuga, and while they adapt the lines for the new electric models and these begin to go into mass production.
The new agreement also includes that the workforce will have to work more and the working day will be extended by 15 minutes a day from 2025. In addition, greater flexibility measures are included, such as applying industrial shifts without additional costs or working up to 8 or 10 Saturdays a year depending on the production needs of the car factory.
In the event that Ford finally does not award the two electric models for which Almussafes competes with the German Saarlouis plant, the agreement will be limited to a one-year term with a salary increase of the CPI plus 1%.
union division
As usual in the signing of the latest factory agreements, the agreement has been supported by the UGT, the majority in the works council, and rejected by the rest of the unions (STM, CCOO and CGT) considering that the conditions are harmful to workers. In fact, STM has already challenged the electrification agreement before the Labor Court and therefore considers that the agreement is up in the air based on the court decision. The other unions consider that in practice it means freezing salaries and a step backwards in the rights of workers at the plant. In addition, the rest of the unions have complained that they have hardly had a day to study the text presented.
STM refused to support the agreement after having challenged the electrification agreement between Ford and UGT in the Social Court, since it considers that, among other points, it should be ratified in a referendum beyond the vote carried out by the UGT itself. According to this union, the agreement is at the expense of the judicial decision.
In addition, the agreement includes the equality plan and the teleworking agreement, from which employees with a technical and administrative profile may benefit, between 300 and 400 people and who could later reach a thousand and who will be able to telework three days a week.
Along these lines, the flexible working hours agreement allows access to the workplace between 7 and 9 a.m. and is assigned to the central shift, to which technical and administrative personnel are welcomed.
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