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UNI says Prosegur’s decision to drop legal action against its Paraguayan union is not enough and the Spanish multinational must now reinstate the workers it sacked without due cause.

Spanish security giant Prosegur has dropped legal action against its Paraguayan union, who it had alleged had carried out illegal strike action. On the 30^th of July, the company fired 327 Paraguayan employees when they returned to work after strike action, the first mass dismissal following the June 22^nd Paraguay coup. By firing these workers, Prosegur became the first company in Paraguay to effectively remove its union from the company after the June coup d’état.

Prosegur had sought to have Paraguayan courts declare the strike illegal, but on Monday 20^th of August desisted from their action. The company still has not reinstated any of the 327 dismissed workers. The dismissed workers have announced they will file a class action in the Paraguayan courts, demanding their jobs back.

“We have not broken the law, the company must give us our jobs and the livelihoods of our families back. We will fight until they do so”, said fired Prosegur employee and Paraguayan union (SITEPROPASA) joint General Secretary Mario Arturo Lomaquis.

Prosegur fired 327 union members who had participated in a strike in Paraguay. The strike was lifted by Prosegur employees after the Paraguayan Minister of Labor offered to mediate in the conflict and the company called the union back into negotiations on Friday the 27^th of July. When 327 workers presented themselves for work at the company on the Monday following the strike they were fired by Prosegur.

“Prosegur has no moral justification for firing these Paraguayan workers. The courts never declared their strike illegal, however the company fired the workers on this premise and has still not done the right thing and reinstated these employees. Prosegur has no moral backbone in what they have done”, said Adriana Rosenzvaig, Regional Secretary of UNI Americas, the global union for private security workers.

UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings said, “UNI Global Union and the international labour movement stands united in its opposition to the unacceptable behaviour of Prosegur. We will not rest until justice is done and these workers are reinstated. It is time for Prosegur head office in Spain to wake up to the realities of the unethical practices of its global operation.”

Spanish trade unions (UGT, CCOO and USO) in Prosegur’s home country have sent a letter denouncing the company’s actions, which they described as totally unacceptable according to José Centeno head of FeS-UGT in Spain.



To see the legal document clic on RELATED FILES