Henry Schein is a multinational company, present in more than 22 countries, supplying medical and clinical equipment. As such, it should come as no surprise that the current pandemic has significantly increased its turnover. In Spain, it’s also been awarded profitable contracts with the public health service.
Regardless, last September 11, the company dismissed 9 workers at its warehouse and logistics centre in Seseña-Toledo, Spain, based on alleged production needs. During the following months, they have dismissed more workers from other centres, which is evidence of the company implementing an in-depth organizational rearrangement. The alleged causes for the dismissals are false. The company is using them to hide its ongoing reduction of labour costs, carried out under the current state of alarm in Spain, decreed because of the health emergency.
Henry Schein is not interested in maintaining jobs during the health crisis and is acting unlawfully. Between March and May, it bought a number of companies and assets from subsidiaries (Dental Especialidades, S.L., assets of Casa Schmidt, S.A., Servimed Técnicos, S.L.U., assets of Mediclog Sanitaria S.L., Casa Schmidt Portugal, etc.), while forcing a reduction of working hours and wages on its staff. This reduction ended in September, when a return to normal employment conditions was announced. Yet the dismissals quickly followed. In addition, the company gained lucrative contracts with the regional Administration to supply sanitary equipment related to COVID-19.
The company is using the health emergency and the past reduction of working hours to disguise a group dismissal of workers, which should be done through the relevant legal instrument, as individual ones and is violating workers’ rights.
WE DEMAND THE REINSTATEMENT OF ALL DISMISSED WORKERS!
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