4,300 billion centimes (DA) allotted to “Sonacome” Company for the production of 1,000 vehicles only!

The National Company for industrial vehicles “SNVI,” also known as “Sonacome” based in the industrial zone of Rouiba, east of Algiers, is compelled to complete the production of more than 4,000 vehicles by the next few months, and in a timely manner, at a time when the percentage of achievement goals is set at around 42 percent on a monthly basis, according to an assessment report worked out by the end of last October.

 In this connection, the Secretary-General of the Trade Union of the National Company of industrial vehicles (SNVI), Mr Boudjadja Omar, expounded to “Echorouk” the  dire situation now besetting the company, which has not been able to lessen the 42 percent achievement goals despite benefiting from multiple financial grants from the relevant authorities between last May and July. 

Our interlocutor estimated the first financial installment that was pumped in last May at 1,700 billion centimes (DA), adding that this amount rose gradually as from the month of July 2016 and will reach 4,300 billion centimes (DA), although the same vehicles’ production ratio isn’t expected to change in spite of the huge financial input.

This woeful situation now gripping the SNVI Company prompted the workers to organize again on Sunday protests in Rouiba’s industrial zone demanding the departure of President Director General and all his staff, whom they accused of pursuing a policy of mismanagement which could lead, they fear, to the company being slated for privatization during the next phase.

He further pointed out that the disgruntled workers will resort to more protests during the next stage on a weekly basis until the current managerial staff is removed from office, thus breathing new life into the ailing SNVI Company.

As a recall, the workers’ representatives of the National Company of Industrial Vehicles (SNVI) reportedly obtained satisfaction for their standing demands following a recent meeting with the General Secretary of the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA), Abdelmadjdid Sidi Said, said a trade union source to “Echorouk”.

“The union members of the SNVI Company held a meeting with the SG of the UGTA who assured that all the demands of the workers will be fulfilled,” said Mr.  Lakhdar Hami, in charge of the organization within the union.

“At the meeting, the SG of UGTA assured that it obtained guarantees from the government authorities to appoint new leaders at the head of the SNVI Company to ensure its sustainability and the revival of pending investment plans,” he added.

According to the unionist, “the concerns of the workers were already explicit in the platform of demands issued at the beginning of November which called for the departure of the management staff and the safeguarding of the activities of the company”.

The union officials and workers held a sit-in in front of the headquarters of the general management to support the request for the departure of the managerial staff while asking the authorities to designate new managers able to restart the lagging production activity, said Mr Hami.

He stressed that “the workers of the group no longer face the problem of securing their regular wages unlike the previous months”.

On 23 October, the SNVI workers had already organized a sit-in to convey their demands to the General Directorate but so far to no avail.

The declaration of 2 November containing the workers’ demands indicated that the latter remained “without any follow-up, and this logjam situation led to the disruption of the dialogue with the controversial General Management of the Company”.