The production shutdown in Bosnia's only aluminium smelter, Aluminij from Mostar, is the result of years of neglect of visible problems in company's business results, Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitorovic said Thursday, adding that she was worried for the fate of some 900 workers.
“I firmly support the clarification of all the facts that led to this situation. I want to believe that the Republic of Croatia, as the co-owner of Aluminij, did everything to protect the national interests and interests of the employees, which is why I asked for an urgent response from the Government,” Grabar-Kitarovic said.
One of Bosnia's biggest exporters and a strategic company for the former Yugoslavia, a joint-stock company Aluminij from the South Bosnian city of Mostar was cut off from the power supply due to a debt reaching some €100,000. But that is not the company's only debt. It owes over €100,000 to its suppliers, workers and other expenses.
With the power shut-down, the electrolytic cells in the plant have been to be shut-down as well, which caused irrecoverable damage to the company as putting into operation of only one cell would cost the company over €90,000 and it has 256 electrolytic cells in total.
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The power shut-down also left some 900 workers without work.
On Thursday, they gathered in front of the Croat Democratic Union (HDZ BiH) party's headquarters in Mostar, protesting the party's inaction to prevent the company shut-down.
Aluminij's managers were booed and workers chanted “thieves, thieves,” after they came out of talks with the party Leader Dragan Covic.
Namely, while the workers were protesting in front of the party headquarters, Covic came to Aluminij to meet with the company's managers.
The reason why the workers came to protest in front of the HDZ BiH building is that the ethnic oriented party has been using the company as a cover in all its election campaigns promising better days for the company and appointed company managements, promising change every time.
As with all Bosnia's State-owned companies, the parties in power appoint their own managements through government bodies every time they win the majority vote, and as Bosnia's constitution requires an equal representation of all the constituent peoples in the government, the HDZ was always in power since they are the strongest Croat party in the country.
The meeting participant told the press they will continue the talks and that Aluminij will reimburse its workers for all the late salaries and contributions.
Croatian government owns 12 percent of the company's stocks.
