ZAGREB, May 15 (Hina) - A trade union of workers employed in the NAMA department store chain on Monday requested Croatia's Premier Ivica Racan to immediately organise a meeting on the NAMA issue. The request comes in the wake of
Deputy Premier Slavko Linic and Economy Minister Goranko Fizulic's rejection of a rehabilitation model put forward by Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ), and their insisting on NAMA's filing for bankruptcy. "Why won't Linic and Fizulic accept the rehabilitation model which doesn't cost the state even one kuna, but enables NAMA's 1,500 workers to keep their job and gives dismissal wages to 400," the head of the Zagreb branch of the Croatian Association of Trade Unions, Mario Ivekovic, wondered at Zagreb's press conference. He also asked "what interest the state has in seeing a company which is 88 percent state-owned go bankrupt." According to the PBZ model,
ZAGREB, May 15 (Hina) - A trade union of workers employed in the NAMA
department store chain on Monday requested Croatia's Premier Ivica
Racan to immediately organise a meeting on the NAMA issue.
The request comes in the wake of Deputy Premier Slavko Linic and
Economy Minister Goranko Fizulic's rejection of a rehabilitation
model put forward by Privredna Banka Zagreb (PBZ), and their
insisting on NAMA's filing for bankruptcy.
"Why won't Linic and Fizulic accept the rehabilitation model which
doesn't cost the state even one kuna, but enables NAMA's 1,500
workers to keep their job and gives dismissal wages to 400," the
head of the Zagreb branch of the Croatian Association of Trade
Unions, Mario Ivekovic, wondered at Zagreb's press conference.
He also asked "what interest the state has in seeing a company which
is 88 percent state-owned go bankrupt."
According to the PBZ model, the bank would collect 300 million kuna
(US$35.3 million) of its claims from NAMA by letting its strategic
partner, Velika Gorica-based Sloboda, use seven NAMA department
stores. Sloboda committed to keep half the NAMA employers working
in the seven stores.
The remaining department stores would be transferred to suppliers
and employers and continue operating as NAMA's chain.
Deputy Premier Linic assessed this model as "shameful" at last
week's meeting of the Croatian Privatisation Fund board of
directors. The Fund rejected the proposal.
Economy Minister Fizulic on the other hand two weeks ago assured
suppliers, who were willing to buy NAMA, that bankruptcy was the
only solution.
(hina) ha jn