Over the early part of 1999, the Astilleros Españoles group of public companies could announce further redundancies, if European Union shipbuilding policies do not change. The number of workers in the sector in Spain has been reduced from nearly 25,000 in 1984 to around 6,000 in 1998.
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Over the early part of 1999, the Astilleros Españoles group of public companies could announce further redundancies, if European Union shipbuilding policies do not change. The number of workers in the sector in Spain has been reduced from nearly 25,000 in 1984 to around 6,000 in 1998.
The Spanish public shipbuilding group, Astilleros Españoles, currently includes six companies, two of which - Barreras SA and Astander SA- are in the process of privatisation. Over the last 14 years, the shipbuilding workforce has been greatly reduced in line with the capacity authorised by the European Union (EU), falling from 24,587 in 1984 to 5,800 in 1998. Production and income have increased, and losses have fallen from ESP 24 billion in 1997 to around ESP 19 billion in 1998. However, is appears that further redundancies may be announced during the early part of 1999.
The Ministry of Industry states that the redundancies have been prescribed by the European Commission, which considers Astilleros Españoles' losses over the last two years as an indicator of the non-effectiveness of public aid granted in 1995. This aid cannot be maintained after 1 January 1999.
The CC.OO and UGT trade union confederations have strongly rejected the the prospect of redundancies, and aim their criticism at both the European Commission and the Spanish Ministry of Industry. With regard to the Commission, they state that aid to shipbuilding should be maintained as a way of counteracting dumping by Asian countries, and also request measures to stimulate the European internal market. In this the Spanish unions are not alone: the European Metalworkers' Federation will ask the Commission to maintain aid across the whole Union in order to fight unfair competition from certain countries in Asia.
With regard to the government, the unions are more direct. They state that the measures agreed in 1995 were applied late owing to the change of government in 1996. They also criticise the government's policy of privatising the two companies of the group that show profits, which will necessarily damage the overall position of the group. The mining and metalworking federation of CC.OO questions the effectiveness of the management of the group. However, the management claims that the responsibility lies in Brussels, so they have also joined the call for protective measures.
The shipbuilding industry used to be of great importance in Spain in terms of both production and jobs. The Astilleros Españoles group was one of the principal shipbuilders in the world. Today it is just a shadow of what it was and the prospect of more redundancies may reduce its position even further.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1998), Further redundancies ahead in shipbuilding?, article.
