More than 10 thousand workers will go on collective vacation at PIM due to the drought, says union

Manaus (AM) – The president of the Metalworkers Union of Amazonas (Sindmetal-AM), Valdemir Santana, informed that approximately 15 thousand workers will go on collective vacation due to the severe drought affecting Amazonas. Statistics indicate that approximately 35 companies from the Manaus Industrial Pole (PIM) will adhere to the measure. According to an expert, the measure can preserve jobs, but should impact the Amazonian economy.

The Rio Negro reached a level of 13.49 meters, this Tuesday (17), the lowest level since counting began in the Port of Manaus, in 1902. According to the Routing and Monitoring Management (GEA), the trend is that the volume of the rivers will continue to decrease until the end of this month.

Without being able to dock at the city’s port, ships loaded with inputs coming from other regions to supply PIM’s factories navigate with difficulty in the area due to the lack of signage on the Amazon rivers.

In preparation for Black Friday, the moment worries industry representatives, since many products originating in the Manaus Free Trade Zone (ZFM) are shipped to other corners of the country, as pointed out by the vice-president of the Federation of Industries of the State of Amazonas ( Fieam), Nelson Azevedo.

“For a long time, we have been calling for signage on our waterways for river dredging, in order to improve navigation, signage of rivers for safe transport and so that when that time comes there will not be this problem”,

recalled the professional.

The Federation of Commerce of Goods, Services and Tourism of Amazonas (Fecomércio-AM) held, on Monday (16), a meeting with representatives of ports, terminals and intermodal transport to discuss the drought and the difficulty of docking at ports from Manaus.

Among the issues treated as urgent are the dredging of rivers and the reconstruction of BR-319, roads that facilitate the transport of goods and enable the flow of agricultural, industrial and commercial production in Amazonas.

“At the moment when the goods, through the river river, need to leave Porto Velho, the vessel does not have the capacity to navigate through the sandbanks and due to the lack of dredging, which is essential at this time. During the meeting, we learned that DNIT already has an approved program for carrying out this dredging that needs to be done urgently”,

highlights the president of Fecomércio-AM, Aderson Frota.

The coordinator of the logistics commission at the Amazonas State Industry Center (Cieam), Augusto César Rocha, recently stated that the setbacks increased freight costs in the region by between 25% and 50%, depending on the contract.

Collective holidays and temporary hiring

The solution to avoid layoffs of workers as a result of the logistical problem is to order collective vacations in the companies that make up the industrial complex, according to Valdemir Santana.

“The idea is to bring forward the collective holidays that were scheduled for after December 10th, to now. And when the raw materials arrive, there are no dismissals of these workers. It’s not every factory, based on the calculations we made here; there are around thirty or so companies that will generate collective vacations, approximately 10 to 15 thousand workers”,

highlighted the president of Sindmetal-AM.

In the opinion of economist Ailson Rezende, the measure is the best alternative at the moment, as there is no way to maintain continuity of work due to the conditions in the region.

“Collective holidays are the best alternative for businesspeople, as the delivery of raw production materials is hampered and stocks of finished products are full”,

agreed the professional.

Fieam made a projection stating that there will be no layoffs in the industry during this period we are facing, but economist Ailson is more cautious about the federation’s position.

“The layoffs are caused by the prolonged stoppage of production, companies are unable to keep employees without production, sales and revenue. Yes, there is a risk of dismissal!”

highlighted Rezende.

The same projection also pointed out that there will be no temporary hiring at the end of the year, as is usually the case. Regarding this situation, the economist spoke about the impacts on the Amazon market.

“The lack of this opportunity affects several sectors of the state economy, mainly the services sector. For every direct job at PIM, at least 4 indirect jobs are created. Without hiring, there is no income generation and the virtuous cycle of the economy to turn”,

concluded specialist Ailson Rezende.

Positioning according to measurement

The Brazilian Association of Manufacturers of Motorcycles, Mopeds, Mopeds, Bicycles and Similar Products – Abraciclo, in a statement, said that the current scenario requires attention and that all of its 14 members carry out continuous monitoring of the situation.

Cieam also spoke out and noted that it is awaiting the results of a survey among members to officially disclose how companies are managing their logistics with the limitations imposed by the drought. Also according to the agency, companies planned for the seasonal drought period so as not to lack inputs, but if necessary, adopting collective holidays is an alternative.

The Industrial Pole currently generates 110,667 direct jobs, including permanent, outsourced and temporary employees, according to the Manaus Industrial Pole Performance Indicators, published by the Manaus Free Trade Zone Superintendence (Suframa).

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