Management and unions of the Catalan cement industry defend the continuity of the Montcada i Reixac factory

The unions UGT FICA Catalunya and CCOO del Hàbitat de Catalunya, together with the Ciment Català employers’ association, within the framework of the Cement and Environment Labor Foundation (CEMA), demand that the Generalitat de Catalunya, without delay, resolve the processing in progress so that the activity of the LafargeHolcim factory in Montcada i Reixac obtains the adequacy of its Integrated Environmental Authorization (AAI).

The company has received an order from the TSJC in relation to the environmental authorization of its Montcada i Reixac factory, declared invalid due to a formal defect during the administrative processing of the Generalitat of Catalonia, in which measures are established that would entail the closure of a factory that generates 300 direct and indirect jobs and that complies with all regional and European environmental regulations.

The social agents consider that it is important to maintain a specific weight of the industrial sector in Catalonia, and the cement sector is an example in line with the circular economy and the ecological transition, which meets its social and environmental obligations. In this sense, we ask the Generalitat for a prompt solution to this issue, to guarantee the viability of the factory and the maintenance of jobs.

“From the Federation of UGT FICA Catalunya we express our commitment to maintaining the quality jobs that the LafargeHolcim Cement Company currently has. Of course, with compliance with environmental regulations and the company’s social responsibility towards the workers and citizens of the municipality of Montcada i Reixac”.

“CCOO de Catalunya is aligned with the need to move towards a CO₂ neutral economy, at the same time that we defend the need to defend employment in the industry in Catalonia. In this sense, we demand a quick solution that gives stability and horizon to the factory staff, as well as to all the workers of the cement sector in Catalonia. Political solutions are needed that give guarantees to all the workers of LafargeHolcim in Montcada”.

“We consider it unfair that a factory that has always carried out its activity with all the enabling titles; that since the 1980s, it has invested in environmental improvements at the rate set by European standards; that it is at the highest technological level; and that it complies with the strictest environmental controls, can be closed and that 300 people could lose their jobs. All due to a formal defect in an administrative procedure for which the factory is not responsible”, is pointed out from the management of the Montcada cement factory.

Trade union and business organizations call for stronger communication and dialogue with local entities and neighborhood associations to make the necessary economic activity compatible with the improvement of people’s living conditions and the protection of the environment, as it had carried out at the Montcada factory in recent years open days and local sustainability committees.