SISAK IRONWORK, PRODUCTION DIDN'T BEGIN SISAK, March 1 (Hina) - The co-ordinator of the bankruptcy procedure in the Sisak Ironworks on Friday evening did not allow representatives of the Russian company "Mechel" and its subsidiary
"Conares Balkan" to enter the premises of this plant in Sisak (some 50 kilometres south-east of Zagreb), and thus made it impossible for workers and "Conares Balkan" to start production of steel in one of the factory's furnaces.
SISAK, March 1 (Hina) - The co-ordinator of the bankruptcy
procedure in the Sisak Ironworks on Friday evening did not allow
representatives of the Russian company "Mechel" and its subsidiary
"Conares Balkan" to enter the premises of this plant in Sisak (some
50 kilometres south-east of Zagreb), and thus made it impossible
for workers and "Conares Balkan" to start production of steel in one
of the factory's furnaces. #L#
In front of the main entrance to the ironworks' premises, the co-
ordinator Blanka Anducic-Oresic handed over to the Conares Balkan
director a written notice on the ban on his entering the plant and on
the restart of the production, justifying this decision with the
stand of the Croatian government and Economy Minister Ljubo Jurcic
that the sales contract has not yet taken effect. She also cited a
decision of the committee of the ironworks' creditors that no
production should be initiated in the plant, due to a possibility of
accumulating huge losses, as long as the process of bankruptcy was
going on.
Addressing reporters in front of the main entrance, after his talks
with Mrs. Anducic-Oresic and during the meeting with gathered
workers, the Conares Balkan director, Nasibulla Mukhatdinov, said
last night that "the factory will operate regardless of the
problems."
"The electric furnace in the steel plant was prepared to operate
this evening (...), as we promised upon our arrival in the
ironworks," said Mukhatdinov, adding that the efforts of the
workers in that part of the factory would be paid, and expressing
regret at the failure to start producing steel on Friday night.
Commenting on the conduct of the receiver Anducic-Oresic, he
described it as "professional and expert , given that she is doing
all what is obliged to do under law and according to what has been
quoted in Minister Jurcic's letter."
Referring to additional demands of the minister and the government
for amending the bank guarantee which Mechel gave for the purchase
of the Sisak plant, Mukhatdinov said that "until this moment I
regard this as stupid, as we are freezing the six-million-euro
capital over a five-year period, instead of using it in the start of
the production as we have planned".
He claimed that "Mechel" had given good and solid assurances of a
great Russian bank, and added that "the additional demands are
legal and formal".
"What is happening to the Ironworks is not understandable to me and
"Mechel". We cannot understand what the Croatian governments is
asking for," he added.
Minister Ljubo Jurcic met with Russian Ambassador Eduard
Leonidovich Kuzmin earlier on Friday, informing him about the
ministry's position regarding developments in the purchase of the
ironworks and the contentious parts of the Russian company Mechel's
purchase guarantee.
Jurcic reiterated the government wished for the sale to go through,
i.e. for Mechel to alter the text of the bank guarantee so that
production in the bankrupt ironworks might start. The minister said
the document stated the guarantee would become invalid if the sales
contract was terminated in part or completely. But, the point is
that the economy ministry and the government seek guarantees for
damages in case of contract termination so that they might ensure
the funds for salaries of workers.
Jurcic further said that Mechel's company Conares Balkan had not
yet signed a contract for the purchase of spare parts and raw
materials that are required to start production and that as a
result, the payment of January salaries was late.
Asserting that his company has so far invested huge efforts,
knowledge and significant funds in order to start the manufacturing
process in the plant, Mukhatdinov said he believed that "Mechel"
would next week meet additional requests and that they would be
allowed by the Croatian government to start operating.
On late Friday night the co-ordinating body of trade unions united
in efforts to ensure the survival of the Sisak Ironworks, expressed
outrage at the latest developments.
The unionists wondered why some workers had had to go to work to the
plant on Friday evening when they were eventually not allowed to
enter the plant's premises.
One of union leaders, Ivica Kenda, said that "if the government does
not let "Mechel" start producing, then it should begin the
production on it own and employ all of 1,700 employees with the
ironworks.
The unionists also complained about the fact that the employees had
not yet receive minimum wages for January, although on 13 February
Premier Ivica Racan and Minister Jurcic explicitly promised to pay
them those salaries.
(hina) ms