Lisbon, July 19, 2024 (Lusa) - Lusa confirmed on Friday, from an official source from this body and the shipyard's labour committee, that Arsenal do Alfeite's board of directors has tendered its resignation.
According to the source, the resignation of the current chairman of the board of directors of Arsenal do Alfeite, José Luís Serra Rodrigues, and the other board members has been submitted to the shareholder IdD Portugal Defence. This state-owned holding company owns the shipyard.
The Arsenal do Alfeite Workers' Committee also confirmed the resignation to Lusa.
The chairman of the board of directors, José Luís Serra Rodrigues, took office in January 2021, after his predecessor, José Miguel Antunes Fernandes, resigned for ‘personal reasons’.
Speaking to Lusa, António Pereira, a member of Arsenal do Alfeite's workers' committee, said that this is a situation that the committee “doesn't take kindly to”.
‘We see it as bad. We have seen 15 years of boards that always end their terms with bad relations with the Navy,’ he lamented.
António Pereira emphasised that the administration that resigned ‘even brought positive things’ and praised the work of its two members.
‘There was interest from the people, but there was never any interest from the state, because this administration had only had two members for over a year’ when it was supposed to have three, he said.
The workers' committee is still waiting for the meeting it has requested with the minister of defence, Nuno Melo, to find out what measures are being studied to resolve the current financial situation of the shipyard, which they want to keep public.
On 25 June, the minister of defence said that he had received Arsenal do Alfeite ‘technically bankrupt’ and that it had taken out loans of around €2 million to pay salaries and meet tax obligations.
‘We received a technically bankrupt Arsenal do Alfeite, with numerous ships held up well beyond the deadline for their maintenance, causing great damage to the fulfilment of missions, to the effectiveness of the Portuguese Navy, but we will have to respond,’ he announced.
At the time, the government minister and president of the CDS-PP said that he had asked for a set of ‘possibilities to remedy the current tragic financial situation of the Arsenal do Alfeite and proposals for possible measures aimed at another model that would say to the Portuguese Navy what the Navy needs’ to be presented to him within 30 days.
Arsenal do Alfeite has experienced serious financial problems in the past, which have led to salary delays and even Christmas bonuses in 2020 for the more than 400 workers who make up this company. This company is responsible for repairing and maintaining the Portuguese Navy's ships.
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