The Metalworkers' Union in Río Grande declared a state of maximum alert after denouncing that Grupo Mirgor had begun dismissing plant workers in Tierra del Fuego.
The conflict unfolded while the union was carrying out a 24-hour strike at company facilities. According to the organisation, the first dismissals became known while the strike was under way.
Oscar Martínez, secretary general of the Tierra del Fuego branch, said the company's decision deepens a dispute that had already been escalating between the UOM and the industrial holding.
The union's concern is not limited to the first job losses. According to Martínez, during a previous wage-negotiation hearing, Mirgor representatives had already stated their intention to initially dismiss around 100 permanent plant workers.
The union also warned that uncertainty extends to personnel hired under the Permanent Discontinuous Service regime. Under the toughest scenarios mentioned by the company, dismissals could reach up to 300 workers.
The UOM Delegates' Congress held an emergency session and unanimously ratified its rejection of dismissals or changes to labour rights won in the factories.
The organisation decided to move the debate to the rank and file to define the next steps in the action plan. The conflict remains open in a key sector for industrial employment in Río Grande.
The Mirgor case once again places Tierra del Fuego's industry before a structural tension: how to sustain metalworking jobs, productive continuity and labour rights amid corporate adjustment and pressure on costs.
