8 December, 2009ASIMRA has concluded a recognition agreement with the Japanese company
ARGENTINA: After several months of discussion, the IMF-affiliated Argentinean supervisors' union ASIMRA has reached an agreement with Honda Motor Argentina on the following points:
- ASIMRA is the trade union recognized for negotiating a collective agreement for supervisors at Honda Motor Argentina;
- the parties commit themselves to negotiating a collective agreement in the course of 2010, after carrying out an analysis of market prospects and the company's situation;
- the parties will initiate negotiations on a collective agreement for a plant that Honda plans to open in Campana;
- the parties are willing to maintain harmonious relations within a framework of social peace.
Jyrki Raina, General Secretary of the International Metalworkers' Federation (IMF), stated "This is an excellent achievement for ASIMRA, which has faced difficulties to obtain recognition for collective bargaining with some other companies."
The Honda plant in Campana in Buenos Aires province was due to open in the second half of 2009, but the economic recession brought the project to a halt. Construction work has resumed. The plant plans to open in April 2010 and create some 800 jobs.
Progress has also been reported at Toyota Argentina, which has now recognized the existence of different levels of supervisory functions. The Argentinean labour minister has communicated to ASIMRA that it would soon formally acknowledge these facts. ASIMRA has received the support from the blue-collar workers' union SMATA in seeking recognition to represent the 300 white collar workers at the Toyota plant located in Zárate, province of Buenos Aires.
ASIMRA is pushing for similar developments at other automotive companies operating in Argentina with the support of IMF.