PROPOLLO AND AMACO APPROVE THE STATE SLAUGHTERHOUSE AGREEMENT

The signing of both agreements seeks a framework of stability to address the major challenges facing the industry, including ensuring competitiveness at a time of maximum pressure due to the pandemic, as well as the need to open up new international markets.

Madrid, 26th November 2020. PROPOLLO(Interprofessional Association of Chicken Meat Poultry Farming), together with AMACO (National Association of Poultry, Rabbit and Poultry Cutting Plant Processors) announced the approval of the State Agreement for Poultry and Rabbit Slaughterhouses, signed with the representatives of the trade unions UGT-FICA and CCOO Industry. The State Agreement on Poultry Farms for the period 2020-2022, which was still open at another negotiating table, has also been signed.

The Slaughterhouse Agreement is an important milestone for the poultry industry, as it lays the foundations for action in our sector for the next 5 years (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025), crucial in our transformation and adaptation to the impact of the crisis caused by the COVID19 pandemic.

In a context marked by uncertainty, with a generalised fall in prices, cost increases resulting from the rise in raw materials, as well as cost overruns assumed by increasing safety in order to prioritise the protection of our workers' health, this agreement allows us to focus on the measures necessary to overcome the new challenges in a context of employment stability.

It also implies a significant economic effort for companies, as it provides for wage increases that in the slaughterhouse agreement alone will mean that by 2025 there will be a 25% increase in labour costs in this segment of the industry's value chain .

The Poultry Farm Agreement also incorporates CPI-based wage increases, which will be 0.75% for 2020, 1.25% for 2021, and 1.5% for 2022 .

Sustainability and internationalisation in the face of market pressures

Our priority continues to be to strengthen our industry in order to be more competitive in the coming years, and above all to take the necessary measures to ensure the productivity and profitability of our operations, something we consider essential to maintain the more than 40,000 direct and indirect jobs generated by our sector. This also involves reinforcing the Premium image of our products, both in Spain and in other markets, with a strong commitment to investment in sustainability and digital transformation.

In addition, our associations believe that a major effort has been made by companies to offer our workers a framework of guarantees and benefits that provide stability for them and their families in these difficult times.

Beyond the economic conditions reflected in the agreement, which include progressive annual wage increases, it has been considered a priority to adopt measures to encourage employment among young people, to incorporate benefits that enable family reconciliation, to improve the system of guarantees in the event of health or family problems, and to guarantee gender diversity.

The Slaughterhouse Agreement provides for wage increases based on the evolution of the CPI, which apply to the entire period of the agreement, starting with a 1.5% increase for 2019; 0.5% for 2020 and 2021; 1.65% for 2022 and 2023; and 2.30% for 2024 and 2025. There is also the absorption of the "seniority" supplement in the basic salary, with a 2.6% annual salary increase. This package of economic measures is seen as a pillar to consolidate an environment of medium-term stability among workers at a time of maximum instability. All these measures will raise labour costs by 25.77% by the end of 2025.

Both agreements are awaiting publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE) to be made official in their entirety.