Safilo workers to get higher severance, bonuses as plant shuts down

Ormož – The Italian group Safilo has reached an agreement with the workers of its Ormož eyewear production plant on higher severance pay, annual leave allowances and other bonuses as the plant is slated for shut-down in June at the expense of almost 560 jobs.

The company said on Wednesday the agreement also envisaged long-service bonus for workers who would otherwise be eligible for them only at the end of 2021.

Safilo executive director Angelo Trocchia said that the agreement was “part of our broader strategy, whose objective is to ensure solid and sustainable future of the Safilo Group.”

He thanked the trade unions for being constructive in the talks that had preceded the agreement, whose purpose was to “minimise the social impact of this difficult decision”.

He also thanked other Slovenian institutions for conducting “transparent and constructive dialogue.”

Martin Dular of the regional branch of the SKEI trade union association assessed the agreement, concluded on Tuesday, as successful.

“The owners have agreed to everything that we had expected,” he told the STA, adding that this was a huge success for the unions.

Dular noted that severance pay would be 20% higher than stipulated by the law, and workers would also get full annual leave allowances, as if they had worked for the entire year.

Safilo announced the shut-down of the plant in mid-March, saying it was adjusting production capacities to meet changing demand. The decision is in line with the group’s strategy and came after two plants in Italy had already been closed.

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