Workers demand “a just transition” before the definitive closure of the Andorra Thermal Power Plant

Comisiones Obreras (CCOO), UGT, the Subcontractors Platform of the Thermal Power Plant of Andorra, the company committee and the Association of Retirees and Passive Personnel of Endesa will claim this Saturday “a fair transition” before the definitive closure of the Andorran installation.

The protest will begin at 12.00, in the Plaza del Regallo in Andorra, and will travel the streets of the town of Turolense under the motto 'Transition or betrayal'. Before the closure of the thermal, the workers claim Endesa, the new central government and the regional government to expedite the transition plan and carry out “more ambitious” measures than to alleviate “the hard setback” that is already assuming the closure of the plant, as reported by the unions.

The Andorra Thermal Power Plant will definitely close on June 30, but by mid-February the available coal will already be depleted and will stop producing. In this way, the staff will be reduced and in June there will only be around 70 workers, less than half of those that the plant had at the end of 2018.

The organizations that have called for the mobilization this Saturday have asked for the “immediate” signing of the fair transition agreement, which “has been standing for a year since it was promised.” In addition, they demand that the text specify the plans that will be carried out to mitigate the closure of thermal power plants, “measures that must affect the personnel of the thermal power plant itself, but also that of the subcontractors of it dependent, and which should include training and job creation plans. “

“Date of Expiry”

The secretary of the Federation of Industry of CCOO Aragón, Ana Sánchez, has pointed out that the 800 jobs advertised in photovoltaic parks actually have “expiration date”. For this reason, it has asked to bet “for industrial work” of more quality and that can serve as a “driving force of the economy in the Region”.

The general secretary of the CCOO Regional Union of Andorra, Antonio Jiménez, referring to the fact that the Fair Transition Contract promised by the Minister for Ecological Transition, Teresa Ribera, has not yet been signed a year ago, has indicated that no “no palpable reality” is seen, so right now “one can speak more of betrayal than of transition.”

For his part, the general secretary of CCOO Aragón, Manuel Pina, has demanded a fair transition for people and the territory, with plans that improve infrastructure, vital to attract companies that provide quality jobs. He has also appealed to the entire population so that on Saturday, January 11, he seconded the call.

“Concretion” and “Facts”

The general secretary of FICA UGT Aragón, José Juan Arcéiz, and the territorial secretary for Teruel of UGT Aragón, Alejo Galve, have asked the Government for “just transition” and “facts” for the just transition but also for Endesa.

Specifically, Arcéiz has argued that Endesa's accompaniment plan “still lacks a lot of lyrics.” In addition, it has considered that the company has to put “much more on the table”, in reference to the “uncertainty” that have both the staff of the plant, as those of subcontractors.