The Es Murterar workers feel as though they are being treated by the government with less consideration than it has shown to workers at the Lloseta Cemex cement works. The employment minister Iago Negueruela has mediated and has managed to get a suspension of the cement works closure while negotiations are to be held in trying to find an alternative solution.
José Antonio Marí, president of the Es Murterar works committee, says that workers are greatly annoyed by Negueruela defending the Lloseta employees while ignoring them. In the case of the cement works, the political intervention concerns a multinational company (Cemex). At Es Murterar, closure is so that the government can meet European emission reduction targets.
With this in mind, the workers also accuse the government of placing obstacles in the way of environmental procedures for undertaking the necessary investments to meet these targets. The Endesa electricity company has pointed out that Es Murterar has not been included in a ministerial order regarding these investments.
The government's plan is to shut down two of the four production units at Es Murterar in 2020. A schedule for full closure of the plant has yet to be determined.
