Oltchim factory employees resumed protests

Aproximatively 200 people employed at Oltchim Ramnicu Valcea factory resumed their protests alongside with the Oltchim management discussions which still seeks funding solutions for the company, broadcasts the Romania Actualitati correspondent, Ana Maria Cârstea.

The losses in recent years and the delay of the privatization process led to the suspension of the activity at the middle of last week when the Oltchim problems arrived in front of the domestic economic activity.

Employees gathered in front of the factory wait to find whether will be paid the 40 million euros capital necessary to restart the whole activity here because it should be noted that, at present, the damage plants are the only operating.

The rest were stopped because Oltchim has a huge debt to the electricity company. Under these circumstances, the employees state that they will not come to work, more than that, they also expecte the union leader’s resignation, Mihai Diculoiu, because he did not represent them and they said they will not leave or give up the protests until Mihai Diculoiu will not resign.

In fact, this was the condition for returning to work even though at the moment the emergency facilities not working.

Meetings on the same topic of financial problems at Oltchim are scheduled in Bucharest between the Minister of Economy and representatives of leading banks in Romania in order to find money to pay the overdue salaries and to provide working capital for a period of one month until the privatization of the company.

It must be said that their protests since last Wednesday had no results because since Friday they started to give back in installments for over a month the money and meal tickets remaining.

Also, the leadership expects that after the discussions to find a company interested to take the whole factory bundled with the Artech refinery in Pitesti and also to pay the huge debts that Oltchim registers for a long time which is why starting 2008 works at 40 percent of the capacity of the factory company.

Oltchim shares are suspended from trading on the Stock Exchange

In Valcea, Oltchim shares are suspended from trading Monday on the BSE as a consequence of the extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders.

An announcement to this effect was posted on the website of BSE.

They talk about serious, so called horizontal effect of suspending activity at Oltchim, about companies whose activity depends on the functioning of the society, including many employees and about their families whose incomes are affected.

But in recent years, Oltchim name was more commonly associated with the women's handball team, supported by the factory, whose very existence is uncertain at this time.

The best club team in the country, finalist in the Champions League two years ago, may cancel its participation at the continental super contest a few months after the Valcea locker was populated by a lot of celebrities.

Valcea club budget will clear in a few weeks and it is assumed that the top handball from Oltchim will go to all four corners of the country in search of funding, a decision rather than logic, informed the editor Mugur Corpaci.

The President Petre Berbecaru admits that the situation is complicated, but the club bosses have some plans to solve this issue.

"Of course there is a plan A in which, if the privatization taking place now, during September, is made with an investor who wishes to continue the handball activity is not a problem, we will continue. If the investor does not want to invest in handball we also started the initiating of a plan B, in which the team is financially supported on the one hand by the local authorities, and on the other hand by sponsors from the city and around the country.

"Taking into account even the idea of ​​functioning even in another town and of course there is a little black perspective, but I hope I do not get at it, that of not finding any financial support for this plan B which involves in this situation to further participate in the competition only with the players who want to work in completely different conditions of financing "said Petre Berbecaru.

He also said that the loss of Oltchim as a team top can be very easily assimilated with the withdrawal of Barcelona football team.

A relatively accurate approximation, given that Valcea has created a formidable team with which to attack the winning of the Champions League.

All dreams of glory would dissipate in an instant if they do not find donors to support this exceptional, unique project in the sport eventually from us.

The lack of money led slowly but surely to the collapse of this social phenomenon, so that the disappearance of Oltchim will only put a millstone to the neck of the sport.

A strategic investment seems to be the ideal solution with little more than a month until the start of Champions League.

Translated By Alexandra-Diana Mircea
MTTLC, Bucharest University