MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

New Uruguayan meat packing plant joins list of companies hit by uncertainty

Basso's death unleashed a series of obscure deeds that keep sinking Uruguayan meat packing into uncertainty

A new crisis in a meat packing plant in Uruguay left some 160 workers fearing for their livelihoods after the Paso de los Toros company halted operations, thus adding to the growing list of plants in crisis, which already included Scheneck, Casa Blanca, Lorsinal, and Rondatel, all of them in connection with the fraud scandal involving the financial company Conexión Ganadera, whose director, Gustavo Basso, died in a traffic accident amidst investor claims.

Uruguay's Federation of Workers of the Meat and Allied Industries (Foica) remains in conflict over stalled collective bargaining negotiations. Additionally, the livestock investment companies Grupo Larrarte, República Ganadera, and Conexión Ganadera are under judicial investigation, further exacerbating the sector's challenges.

Paso de los Toros reported a lack of raw material and liquidity, which keeps 160 employees in uncertainty. The announcement was made after Parliament voted in favor of extending unemployment benefits for Scheneck's workers as the meat packing plant Casa Blanca also resorted to this tool. Other establishments such as Lorsinal and Rondatel were reported to be going through similar hardships after the Conexión Ganadera scandal. Basso's death unleashed the twists and turns of a whole financial fraudulent scheme that also affects slaughter plants, in some of which Basso was the main shareholder.

The situation in the Uruguayan livestock sector is increasingly serious from different points of view: on the one hand, meat processing plants continue to be added to the list of companies in crisis, which also leads to a growing number of workers with an uncertain labor future. At the same time, Foica's new collective bargaining agreement is stalled given the Labor Ministry's determining wage increases by decree, without considering improvements in working conditions.

Between 4,200 and 4,300 investors reportedly lost around US$ 250 million after the bankruptcy of the largest cattle investment fund in Uruguay. Conexión Ganadera was founded in 1999 by five partners, including Pablo Carrasco and Gustavo Basso. The company's bankruptcy also affected meat packing plants and their workers. Paso de los Toros is owned by Bamidal S.A. of which Basso was its main shareholder. The crisis also reached the sheep slaughtering business, it was reported.