2024-04-11 06:45:06
Negotiations with the owner of the metallurgical company Liberty Ostrava, Sanjeev Gupta, did not bring answers to the questions that the government has. This was said by the Minister of Industry and Trade Jozef Síkela (STAN). The government’s demand for the return of money taken abroad has not yet been fulfilled. Until that happens, the government will not provide any taxpayer funds, he added.
After the meeting, Finance Minister Zbyněk Stanjura (ODS) added that from the government’s point of view, the smelter’s restructuring plans are weak and do not bring the necessary hope that the smelter will return to production.
According to him, the repeated postponements of the return of employees to work and the decision to reduce the wages of those who stay at home do not strengthen confidence either.
There are already fewer than 5,000 employees
The number of employees of the metallurgical company has already fallen below 5,000. For example, the company does not extend fixed-term contracts. There will be a problem when production resumes, said Petr Zegzulka, the chairman of the trade union of the tube plant in Liberty Ostrava.
“When we met with the local management last week on Tuesday, we were told the number was 4,972. Of course, that number is gradually decreasing because the employer, or the foreign management, does not want to extend employees’ fixed-term contracts. They still have such a corporate culture, that they tell those people two days before leaving work, which is absolutely incomprehensible,” said Zegzulka.
According to Zegzulka, some people resign themselves, especially those who have obligations and fear the worst. “Of course, we tell people not to do this, because we really believe that the smelter will start. It must start. We do not accept that the smelter should end definitively,” said the union leader.
According to him, people across professions are leaving. “Anyway, there weren’t many people there anymore and it will really hurt to start production. It will hurt, because if you consider that there are professions that work in shifts, i.e. carousel, blast furnaces – there are specifications, various breakdown services and so on , those people have to stay there non-stop, taking turns. The fewer those people there, then it will be (more) problematic to keep it going,” said Zegzulka.
“The result of that meeting is a big disappointment for me, and there are perhaps even more questions than before,” Síkela said. According to him, the ministers wanted to clarify what the current situation is and how the company’s management wants to proceed with its solution. “However, we have not received any explanation,” noted Síkela.
He emphasized that more than ten billion crowns were withdrawn from the company in the past. According to the minister, the owner of the smelter previously promised to return a larger part of it to the company. “But it is not at all clear how and we have not received concrete answers,” Síkela added.
“So they can claim to be dealing with the government”
According to Stanjura, Wednesday’s meeting took place at the request of the owner of Liberty Ostrava. “But I feel the only reason for the meeting was so they could claim they were dealing with the government,” he said. According to him, no progress can be seen in solving the situation.
The ministers also reminded that employees who cannot go to work due to stopped operations will receive 70 percent of their wages starting this week. According to Stanjura, Gupta said the plan is to get those workers back to work within four weeks or pay them full wages again. The minister pointed out that the deadlines are not realistic and do not inspire confidence. According to him, the answer as to whether the company is planning to reduce the number of employees was also evasive.
The state also registers a claim against Liberty Ostrava, when it paid a claim of 60.8 million euros (approximately 1.5 billion crowns) through the Export Guarantee and Insurance Company (EGAP). EGAP guaranteed the company a loan from the German branch of Greensill Bank. According to the ministers, this debt is the only secured one, and the state will therefore defend its interests as a secured creditor in the event of insolvency. On the other hand, he will not intervene in the dispute between Liberty and Tameh.
Liberty Ostrava, which produced steel mainly for the construction, engineering and petrochemical industries, has been having trouble paying its obligations for a long time. However, since December, a moratorium declared by the court has protected her from creditors.
Its energy supplier Tameh Czech ended up in bankruptcy in December, which he explained by the fact that the smelter, its only customer, did not pay him. Tameh states that Liberty currently owes him around 2.2 billion crowns. Liberty’s creditors are now voting on the restructuring plan the company has submitted to them. According to the court, there are more than 1,300 creditors.