After several months of uncertainty, protests and warnings from the workers, the situation in Nova Željezara Zenica is still without a final solution. The union warns that bankruptcy and the dismissal of up to 1,600 workers are unacceptable, while new protests and the continuation of the union struggle have been announced for the next period.
Rašid Fetić, president of the Nova Željezara Trade Union in Zenica, spoke about the current situation in Željezara, the new protests, the relationship between the authorities and the management towards the workers, and whether there is a real chance to save production.
“The situation is becoming more alarming every day”
Fetić warned that the situation in Nova Željezara Zenica is getting worse and that production is almost not taking place at all.
“The situation is becoming more and more alarming day by day. We are doing almost nothing. The workers used the first part of the year and returned to their workplaces, where, believe me, it is spooky. Absolutely nothing is being done, and we are waiting for new information, we are waiting for new uncertainty, so we are very confused,” said Fetić.
The union is asking for the bankruptcy petition to be withdrawn
Speaking about the demands of the Trade Union, Fetić said that they are primarily asking the administration to withdraw the decisions related to bankruptcy, which were submitted in December, writes N1 BiH.
“First of all, we are still asking the administration to withdraw the decisions related to the bankruptcy that they submitted in December. And we are asking the state, in fact the Government of the Federation, to get even more involved in this problem,” he said.
He reminded that the owner of Nova Željezara, Ahmed Hamzić, had previously stated that he wanted to sell his share, but that, according to Fetić, the Government of the Federation was actively involved in the problem.
“Now they are inventing hot water, they are asking the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to provide them with a work plan and how they intend to preserve jobs and protect workers. And Mr. Ahmed Hamzić sent those same workers home and plans to send us all home on the 25th, except for people close to him, to stay working with him,” Fetić said.
“More than 1,600 jobs are at risk”
According to the President of the Trade Union, more than 1,600 jobs are currently at risk.
“You see, more than 1,600 jobs are at risk here. From what we have information, there is absolutely no plan to work here,” Fetić said.
He added that the workers no longer have a reason to trust Ahmed Hamzić.
“We don’t have a single reason to believe Mr. Hamzić, because in the past six months, not a single truth has been spoken in Zenica. And as for the workers, believe me, uncertainty has never been greater, because day after day you look in front of you, and it’s literally dark. The uncertainty is total. You don’t know what to expect anymore,” he said.
Protests due to unpaid holiday pay
The union has announced daily protests in front of the directorate, from 1 to 2 p.m. The reason, as explained by Fetić, is the non-payment of holiday pay for 2023.
“The reason is the non-payment of the holiday allowance for 2023, for which the deadline for payment expired yesterday. Consequently, the workers can file lawsuits in court related to the non-payment from today,” he said.
He added that they expect more massive protests from 1 p.m. because a large number of workers have been returned to the day shift.
The workers are also demanding the closure of the factory
Fetić revealed that the workers asked him to take more radical measures, including a hunger strike and closure of the factory.
“The workers asked me to go on a hunger strike, simply to close ourselves in the factory, not to go out until some things are resolved. So that’s all in the game, so we’ll see this in the next few days,” said Fetić.
“The workers no longer trust the management”
Speaking about the previous protests and public pressure, Fetić said that at the moment the union has no other plan than to continue drawing the public’s attention to the workers’ problem.
He also invited the general manager to address the workers.
“Today I want to invite the general director to appear in front of the gathering of workers, to speak, to tell the truth. Although there is nothing left to say. In the past six months, to put it mildly, dozens of notorious lies have been told, and simply the worker at Željezara no longer trusts the management and the associates of the management,” said Fetić.
“We trust the Government of the Federation because we have no better option”
Fetić said that the workers currently believe in the support of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, because, as he says, they have no other plan.
“At this moment, I believe because we really don’t have a better option. We don’t have two plans. We have plan one, that the Government of the Federation will save us because now we are already pushed somewhere in the river,” he said.
He added that they no longer see room for discussion with the new administration.
“As for the new administration, they absolutely said theirs on April 21st to non-integral production, and we have no more reason to talk to the new administration. We are not on the same wavelength,” he said.
“This concerns all of us”
Fetić warned that shutting down the Željezara would affect not only Zenica but also the entire economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“I think many people are still not aware. This is now about cheap political points, some parties are getting involved, many notorious lies about the Trade Union and me were personally sent from the administration to some parties,” he said.
He also claims that there is an attempt to create confusion and division among the workers.
“Plants are opened, notices are pasted that have no signatories, no seals, nothing, just to confuse the public and workers as much as possible. What we could notice from the new owners and the new management, they are definitely ready for anything, even to divide our workers and brothers, and for the sake of their profit,” he said.
At the end, he made an appeal to political actors.
“I appeal to all possible political actors not to do this, not to shift the blame to the second, third, fifth, but to all work in the interest of jobs. It concerns us all. This is about a large number of families, about the lives of workers, and I tell them not to play with it,” said Fetić.
