The Union of Metalworkers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has published an open letter from the Union of Metalworkers of the Zenica-Doboj Canton and the Union of Nova Željezara Zenica addressed to the collegium and the chairmen of both houses of the federal parliament.
We transmit the open letter in its entirety:
“The Union of Metalworkers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Union of Metalworkers of the Zenica-Doboj Canton and the Union of Nova Ironworks Zenica publicly invite the collegium and the chairpersons of both houses of the federal parliament to URGENTLY schedule sessions of the House of Representatives of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Monday, May 25, and the House of Peoples on Tuesday, May 26, at which the proposal for the Law on the procedure of emergency administration in Nova Ironworks Zenica will be considered and adopted!
Time is running out!
The management of Nova Željezara has already started the process of changing the systematization of jobs, which will abolish 1198 jobs, which will result in a surplus of up to 1600 workers. At the same time, a report hearing before the Municipal Court in Zenica on the existence of grounds for bankruptcy is scheduled for June 25, at which the court can immediately issue a decision on the opening of bankruptcy. According to Article 133 of the Law on Bankruptcy, the employment contracts of all employees terminate on the day bankruptcy is opened! And that’s the end.
Dear delegates, please do not fall for pressure and manipulation. You have the law before you.
It is clearly defined that no measure from this law can be interpreted as a basis for nationalization, expropriation or permanent takeover of ownership rights – it is not true that it is a case of expropriation or confiscation of ownership. The goals of the law are the preservation of business, property, protection of jobs, industrial production and activities of special importance, achieving a higher rate of settlement of creditors than in bankruptcy proceedings.
For us, the most important thing is that after the opening of the extraordinary administration procedure, no previous, pre-bankruptcy or bankruptcy proceedings can be initiated, and opening the extraordinary administration procedure terminates the previous, pre-bankruptcy or bankruptcy proceedings, if they have been initiated. The opening of the extraordinary administration procedure does not terminate the employment contracts of the workers.
With the opening of bankruptcy, all contracts for the work of workers end – to talk about better protection or the position of workers in bankruptcy, after they end up in the office, is completely absurd. The extraordinary manager takes over the authority of the administration with the authority to ensure all the necessary conditions for the continuation of business and production, which is the main goal. To save the factory and industrial chain of key interest for the Federation, as well as jobs!
The Act on the Procedure of Extraordinary Administration does not derogate from regulations in the field of work. The union continues to fully represent the workers, cooperates and negotiates with the part-time manager. The part-time manager is obliged to regularly inform the union about everything that significantly affects or can affect the labor law status of workers, with consultations or seeking consent on issues regulated by current regulations. According to the law, a board of trustees must be formed, which supervises the work of the extraordinary administrator. A worker’s representative also participates in the trustee’s committee. After the opening of the extraordinary administration procedure, salaries, contributions and benefits have priority in payment as current liabilities.
The restructuring plan cannot provide for the write-off, postponement or reduction of workers’ claims incurred
before the opening of the procedure, neither the worker can be put in a less favorable position than in the bankruptcy procedure.
If the restructuring plan envisages a possible reduction in the number of workers, it must also contain a social welfare program for workers, in accordance with the law.
Articles 116 and 118 of the law are very important, they give the court the possibility to order a review of all
financial statements, forensic analysis, as well as assessment of transactions with related parties and analysis of the sample of insolvency. The opening of the extraordinary administration procedure does not relieve the previous administration, the supervisory board, members of the company, related parties or other persons from responsibility for violation of the law, harmful actions, concealment of assets, favoring creditors or abuse of the company. The extraordinary manager is obliged to examine the grounds for liability and propose lawsuits, reports or other property protection measures.
You are all witnesses that too much politics got involved in this story, he writes Radio Sarajevo.
Attention is deliberately diverted from real problems, workers’ problems. It’s devastating.
On the other hand, the management exclusively defends its interests. But we also have the right and obligation to fight for our members and workers, exclusively in their interest. We did not interfere in business decisions until those decisions interfered with the lives and fate of our workers.
With the decision to shut down integral steel production, the owner transferred the business risk from himself to
workers and their families, the foundations of the economy of the Federation of BiH and BiH were hit. An industrial chain in which tens of thousands of workers work is at risk, contrary to what the buyer guaranteed before the acquisition and on the basis of which he received the consent of the BiH Competition Council. Private ownership is not an absolute right, ownership rights cannot be exercised in a way that is contrary to the public interest or the rights of other subjects. Where is the social function of ownership?
Of course, no law is perfect, not even this one.
But we have no other options. Incomparably greater damage will occur if we allow a permanent suspension
production and shutdown of jobs. This will cause a chain reaction in numerous other sectors and cause a complete collapse of the most important industrial system in the country. Everything has been said about that so far.
There is no more time,” the letter reads.
The open letter was signed by the president of the Federation of FBiH, Almir Salihović.
