– The employees have been betrayed. We have all been tricked, says Philippe Nicolas, head of the factory’s trade union, to Le Monde. The fertilizer factory has been under investigation for several deficiencies and violations of the Environmental Protection Act. The Norwegian company confirmed on 30 October that they are laying off 139 of the 171 employees. – The management at Yara has been given a permit to pollute under the guise of receiving tiny fines, says Thierry Noguet, mayor of Montoir-de-Bretagne, the municipality where the factory is located. Several people have been concerned about the safety of storing ammonium nitrate fertilizer at this factory. Photo: Reuters Blame the market Now the decision to make layoffs has caused anger among the employees. The dismissals are seen as a tactic for Yara to avoid the costs required to maintain environmental standards, several professional newspapers in France write. – Yara’s strategy has always been trickery and small political steps, says Marie-Aline Le Cler, leader of the local environmental protection group ADZRP. In an e-mail to news, Tiffanie Stephani, press spokesperson from Yara International, confirms that the factory will restructure, but claims it is due to the market. – Several employees feel that Yara is dismissing people instead of bringing production into compliance with environmental standards. Does Yara agree with this claim? – We fully understand that this decision is difficult for our colleagues, at the same time it is not sustainable to have an industrial area that is no longer adapted to what the market wants, Stephani replies. – As part of this restructuring, the factory will be converted into an import terminal. This will result in 139 positions becoming redundant. Large emissions The factory is one of the major polluters in the French region, writes Le Monde. Several people have been concerned about the safety of storing ammonium nitrate fertiliser. The dismissals are seen as a tactic for Yara to avoid the costs required to maintain environmental standards, the union believes. Photo: Reuters The factory’s emissions of significant amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus have increased in recent years. At the same time, there have also been several accidents at the factory. In August, it emerged in a report from the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning and Housing that there had been a leak of 13 tonnes of sulfuric acid. A contractor was brought in to stop a leak of 13 tonnes of sulfuric acid at the factory on 28 July. He was injured on the arm despite wearing a protective suit. A 50-year-old man also died at the factory on October 24 after falling. An investigation has been launched, but it has not yet been confirmed that it is related to chemical releases.
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Yara lays off employees after fines for environmental violations – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
