Representatives of the Government, the Metalworkers’ Union of Croatia (SMH), and the Croatian Association of Unions (HUS) signed an agreement in Zagreb whereby the unions, on behalf of the workers of the shipyard Viktor Lenac d.d. in bankruptcy, accept the proposal for a new bankruptcy plan, along with the agreed amendments to that plan, as stated in the agreement delivered to the media. The agreement was signed yesterday by Deputy Prime Minister Damir Polančec, SMH President Ivo Marjanović, and HUS President Ozren Matiješević.
The agreed amendments to the proposed bankruptcy plan relate to the employment of workers and the payment of claims of worker-creditors.
The agreement states that the economic activity of the shipyard, which is defined by the bankruptcy plan for the period from 2008 to 2010, must be based on permanently employed workers, and that only in the absence of workers of certain profiles can subcontractors be engaged. The second amendment to the plan relates to the claims of workers amounting to approximately 13 million kuna, which will be paid to them, as creditors of the first higher payment order, immediately after the completion of the bankruptcy. The agreement also confirmed that the Government will sell all its claims, except for the claims of the Croatian Privatization Fund (HFP), to the Zadar-based Tankerska Plovidba and the Pula-based Uljanik.
The state would retain the claims of the HFP and the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) and would have a total of more than 25 percent ownership stake in the shipyard after the completion of the bankruptcy. The unions and workers of the Viktor Lenac shipyard supported in the agreement the sale of part of the state claims and the entry of Tankerska Plovidba and Uljanik into the ownership structure of the shipyard. (Hina)
