FBiH Railways sent an urgent appeal to all government institutions due to the possible consequences caused by the announcement of the suspension of production in the company Nova železara Zenica.
As they announced, the company Nova železara Zenica announced the cessation of work if the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not pass a decision on the protection of domestic production at the announced session on March 23 this year.
“As we have warned before, with this announcement we want to once again draw attention to the fact that the cessation of the work of the Railways in Zenica would cause very harmful consequences for the FBiH Railways. The absence of timely support and concrete measures would put the business and existence of 2,500 workers of the FBiH Railways in question, and would also endanger the other numerous subcontractors. We note that this crisis comes after the already suffered loss of 10 million KM due to the shutdown of the Lukavac Coking Plant”. they stated.
They state that the authorities should take certain steps as soon as possible.
“According to the words of the Acting President of the Management Board – General Director Mirza Hadžibegić, for the survival of the FBiH Railways, urgent reforms are necessary in terms of financial consolidation, modernization of processes and infrastructure, and a long-term sustainable financing system through the adoption of the Law on the Transportation of Hazardous Materials, the dedicated allocation of part of the excise tax for ŽFBiH, or other legal solutions. Until the aforementioned reforms are implemented, urgent measures are needed to enable the continuity of rail transport throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina”, it was announced.
Representatives of Nova železara Zenica, trade unions and management warned yesterday that failure to adopt temporary protective measures at the BiH Council of Ministers could lead to the suspension of production as early as May, with potential chain consequences for tens of thousands of jobs. They emphasize that it is about the protection of domestic industry, not individual companies, and announce a workers’ protest in Sarajevo on March 23, writes N1 BiH.
