The plant managers of Nova Željezara Zenica sent a letter to the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in which they asked them several questions about the next steps and the plan to start integral production.
“From the day the law enters into force, until the restructuring plan is passed, what will happen to the workers, i.e. will they work in their current jobs and have a regular salary and related contributions? Will the restructuring plan entail integral production or some other method of production? Have you secured the necessary funds to start and maintain integral production?”
Why did you reject the owner’s offer to lease the production facilities of integral production, if they are sincere in their intentions to start production? Does the implementation of the lex specialis automatically prevent new investment plans of the owner?”, the letter states.
In addition, an additional question is how they plan to overcome the problem of limited markets and sell manufactured goods without introducing temporary protective measures.
“Are you familiar with the fact that we only have a market for 1/3 of the goods from the total production? If there is an interest in solving the issue of the further continuation of the Željezara’s business, why not sit down with the real owners and discuss solutions? Why are direct meetings with people who understand the process avoided? We know that some directors of the Nova Željezara Zenica have sent official inquiries to Minister Lakić in the past period regarding the plans to start production, but to date no response has been provided.” they point out.
As they add, managers are asking this knowing that there are examples of negative practices as seen in the cases of Krivaja, Rudnik Zenica and other industrial entities.
“With the right to demand concrete plans, clear figures and guarantees of the stability of all existing workplaces. We understand the role of the Trade Union in protecting the rights of workers, but at the same time we are of the opinion that your direct interlocutor should not be only the Trade Union. We are the ones who run production facilities, start and manage production, together with our teams. We know how to manage processes and what is possible in production and in what way. All workers, whether they are members of the Trade Union or not, deserve transparent and responsible communication, based on real plans, not on delays and uncertainty. Given that the decision on bankruptcy is made on June 25, 2026, and we still do not know whether the Government of FBiH will continue production or not, we hereby demand answers by June 10, 2026 at the latest,” it said. Klix.
