The Argentine Workers' Union of the Tire Industry (SUTNA) presented a bill proposal to all blocs of the Buenos Aires Legislature to guarantee the continuity of FATE, the only factory in the country that produces tires for trucks and buses. The initiative, defined in an assembly by the workers, aims to avoid the plant's closure and preserve jobs in a context of industrial crisis and growing openness to imports. According to the union's statement, the proposal seeks to prevent both the social impact of a potential closure and the strategic consequences for national transport. The union emphasizes that the plant's closure would not only mean the loss of 1,000 direct jobs but also a significant impact on the supplier chain, workshops, and activities related to tire production and distribution. In this context, the union's proposal aims to shift the debate to the legislative and political arena, raising the need to discuss what role the State should play in the risk of disappearance of industrial sectors considered strategic for the economy. The union warns that the plant's shutdown would cause 'the social disaster that would result in the loss of jobs for a thousand families directly and more than fivefold indirectly.' The union proposes that the Buenos Aires Legislature treat a bill under the figure of 'temporary occupation,' a tool that would guarantee the continuity of production while the company's situation is resolved. According to the union, this measure would be temporary and would be reversed once the company presents a plan that guarantees its operation: 'this action would not imply any cost for the provincial government, as it would only have a transitory character, returning control to the company as soon as it presents a real plan where it ensures that FATE will continue to work,' the statement details. SUTNA stressed that the continuity of tire production for heavy transport is not just a labor issue but also a strategic one for the country: 'FATE is the only tire factory for trucks and buses in the country,' the union recalled, and warned that its closure could directly affect the operation of the freight and passenger transport system. The union also linked the situation to the international context: 'the international war context implies the real possibility that a tire shortage in the region could force Argentina to be self-sufficient,' they warned from SUTNA. This situation occurs in a scenario of great uncertainty for various national industrial sectors.
