Union Announces New Blockade of Dina Petrokemija

The Union of Workers of Dina Petrokemija today appealed to the relevant ministries to take all necessary actions as soon as possible to restart production in the company, specifically to assist in unblocking the company’s account and ensuring a continuous supply of electricity.

Workers at Dina have not received salaries since June of this year, and if the situation does not change and the account is not unblocked, we will once again initiate a blockade of the company and union actions, stated Predrag Mihaljević, president of the Union of Workers of Dina, after the Executive Board meeting today.

He added that the union is requesting the Turkish investor, Caliskan, to sign a collective agreement at Dina during this week and to allow workers to transport metal waste for the purpose of re-establishing a public kitchen for the workers.

Mihaljević stated that without further assistance from the Ministry of Finance regarding the unblocking of the account and the Ministry of Economy regarding the provision of a continuous, unlimited supply of electricity, it will not be possible to restart production, and the prolonged agony of Dina, without regular salaries, will continue.

He believes that to restart polyethylene production, in addition to the technical readiness of the plant, it is necessary to unblock the company’s account, ensure electricity, and pay the workers, and that the Turkish investor, Caliskan, will not be able to do this alone.

The Executive Board of the Union met today as the social peace agreement with the management expired on November 30, and last week a meeting of the Supervisory Board of Dina was held to discuss the state of the company.

Mihaljević said that the investor’s representatives emphasized at the Supervisory Board meeting that they do not plan to abandon polyethylene production and want to start it as soon as possible. They stated that they have fulfilled all obligations taken on in the restructuring so far, but they must wait for the other party to fulfill its obligations as well.

He noted that regarding the payment of overdue salaries, the Turkish investor assessed that it is a contractual obligation assumed by the Government, the fulfillment of which is expected from the sale of land intended for the construction of an LNG terminal. The investor’s representatives stated that they can only guarantee regular salary payments after the technical readiness for restarting production is established, which is stipulated in the contract and includes an unblocked account and unlimited electricity supply.

Dina Petrokemija, a member of the Dioki Group, submitted a proposal to the relevant institutions on Friday, November 30, to open pre-bankruptcy settlement proceedings, stating that “the opening of pre-bankruptcy settlement proceedings and the subsequent unblocking of the business accounts of Dina Petrokemija d.d., in accordance with the agreement with the Turkish investor, is a crucial step for restarting production at DINA-Petrokemija.”