Agama workers lash out at the government: "We haven't been received for three months"

PalmOutrage, rejection, and anger from the Agama workers because of the attitude of the Ministry of Agriculture towards the factory closure in PalmaThis was explained by Jesús Ávila, spokesperson for the workers of the Mallorcan dairy, on ARA Baleares. "They haven't wanted to meet with us for three months," Ávila stated. According to the workers, since the announcement that the cooperative project was being scrapped, they have been trying unsuccessfully to meet with Regional Minister Joan Simonet, even though the factory has already closed. The workers criticize the fact that no one has informed them of the reasons for the cooperative's failure and the factory's closure, "even though they were part of the initial negotiating table." When Damm made the closure public from the factory was more than possiblethe option arose to create a cooperative project with the workers, the Ministry of Agriculture and AgamaEverything seemed to be going well, but the Regional Ministry and Damm excluded the workers, who had conceived the project, from the negotiations, despite their requests to participate and be informed about the initiative's progress. They also claim they have been "ignored" and that "the situation hasn't changed." "Even though the factory has closed, we still haven't received any answers or been able to talk to anyone," they complain.

Ávila explains that he considered using the grant of more than 1.1 million euros Damm will have to return to the Balearic Government to promote the cooperative and guarantee the survival of Mallorca's dairy sector. As it has done throughout the negotiations, the Ministry of Agriculture has opted for silence, and the workers and creators of the cooperative project remain "in the dark."

The workers at the Agama factory will not be laid off, but rather Damm They will be relocated to various companies and positions within the brewery on the island. However, there is significant discontent, as Ávila explained, since they wanted to be the new generation of dairy farmers in Mallorca, not do any other kind of work. "They always complain that there's no generational replacement in the Balearic countryside, and now that they have it, they destroy it," the spokesperson criticized. "In the end, the ones left high and dry are Agama, its history, and its workers; the others don't care if we close or not," Ávila added.

Creating a cooperative is not yet impossible

However, the spokesperson explains that they haven't given up on creating the cooperative and continuing to produce milk in Mallorca. "If they give us an appointment, we'll meet with the Government and try to get the project going again. We can't let the sector die," Ávila explains.

The spokesperson also explained that, if they reach an agreement with the Ministry of Agriculture, they will try to negotiate with Damm to recover the Agama name. "Agama is part of Mallorca's historical heritage, and we cannot let it die. We will do everything we can to recover it," Ávila stated. For its part, Damm declined to comment to this newspaper, and the workers reported that they are currently reviewing the documentation they received from the brewery regarding the workforce reduction plan (ERE). Simonet will appear before Parliament to provide explanations.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment, Joan Simonet, will appear before the Parliament on March 24 to explain the closure of Agama, at the request of the Socialist group.

The deputy spokesperson for the PSIB-PSOE in the Balearic Parliament, Marc Pons, lamented what he considers "yet another loss within the already scarce agri-food infrastructure of the Balearic Islands" and criticized the government's "negligence" in the face of this situation. He argued that the company's closure represents a further blow to the islands' primary sector.