TUNIS11 - The Om Larayes cabling firm, a production unit of Japanese Yazaki group, based in the mining area of Gafsa, southwestern Tunisia, closed its doors, the Industry and Technology Ministry announced on Tuesday. The Group justified this decision as being the result of the "illegal strikes with no previous notice carried out by workers of the Om Larayes production site, last December 15-16," the industry department's press release pointed out.
According to Yazaki-Tunisia, "these strikes brought production to a halt and had serious repercussions on the work of a customer's cable company, dictating thus on the Yazaki Group to pay for considerable penalties, and harming the Group's reputation."
In spite of the "long negotiations with the employees to convince them to return to work, they refused," the company explained, announcing to the Industry Ministry its decision to close the unit.
Specialised in manufacturing cable beams, Yazaki has five production plants in the Gafsa region, including the Om Larayes'. These units employ about 2200 workers in the region.
The Tunisian Industry, Trade and Handicrafts Union had already cautioned against the consequences of the protest movement, pointing out that continuing strikes risk "to paralyse" the economic activity in Tunisia.
Caretaker President of the Republic Moncef Marzouki called, on December 14, for "a six-month social and political truce" to pull the country out of the economic slump.
© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2011
