With the positive vote of the ND, the draft law of the Ministry of Development and Investments on the “Sanitation of the Elefsina Shipyards and other provisions of a developmental nature” was voted on Authority in the Production and Trade Committee of the Parliament. SYRIZA, PASOK-KINAL and Hellenic Solution reserved their seats in the Plenary, while KKE and MERA 25 voted against it.
The Minister of Development and Investments Adonis Georgiadis, concluding the debate on the articles of the bill in the Committee, announced that there will be a legislative addition that will state that “the business plan provides for the preservation and development of the existing 600 jobs. Specifically, within three years, the development of 1,400 new jobs is foreseen in the two companies, defense and commercial, based on the practical consultation between employees, union, company and the business plan, it is foreseen to maintain the existing 600 jobs within 6 to 12 months and to double them within 24 months.
It is also provided in the defense company that after consultation with the workers’ union and the observance and implementation of the collective labor agreements”. An addition, he said, can be made to make even clearer the commitment to securing jobs, as requested by the Opposition parties.
Mr. Georgiadis has also announced from the debate on the Authority of the draft law in the Committee, that there will be two more additions – improvements.
The one for the employees’ claims, article 2 par. 11A will be reworded and will provide that the employees’ claims from wages, accrued wages and overtime wages, gifts, allowances and other compensations of any kind are paid by ONEX ELEFSIS Naval Maritime S.A. . Defense Company at a percentage of 30% of the total after the date of validation of the consolidation plan and at a percentage of 70% after the date of completion of the transfers independently of defense programs.
Also, in article par. 6, the amendment will state that the amount that ONEX ELEFSIS Naval Maritime must pay for satisfaction to the Navy over a period of 30 years, will be at least equal to the recovery amount, as it will be calculated by the expert and in any case not less than 20 million euros calculated in current values ​​(the filed bill provides for a minimum amount of 15 million euros).
The minister emphasized that the bilateral agreement between ONEX and workers cannot be included in the bill, not even as an annex. He does not have it himself, because it is an agreement between the two parties who have signed it and they are the ones who do not wish to publicize it so as not to become the subject of a political dispute”, but “I would not object to it being given”.
However, he informed the parties that “I have agreed with both the president of the Association and the investor, that any party that wishes and has doubts about what the bilateral agreement provides should come to the offices of your parties and read it to you word for word and say any question you want.”
He pointed out that this plan follows the memorandum that the SYRIZA government had signed with ONEX for the Elefsina shipyards, i.e. with the current bankruptcy law. “We are bringing,” he said, “the bill to the House for one reason only, because Navy officials said that even though there will be a court decision that will validate the reorganization plan under the bankruptcy law, this does not exempt us from anyone in the future who wants to sue us for infidelity.
This issue cannot be overcome even if there was an Act of the Council of Ministers, but the only way to cure it is through legislation by the Parliament and that is why we are here. Very simple”.
There is not any “blank check to the Minister of Development” provided, but what is provided is the authorization to represent the various bodies of the public to go to court and say that the Public accepts this consolidation plan.
He made it clear that if the business plan becomes law, then the court is not necessary. The business plan, with exact amounts and numbers, must be included in the file that the company will submit to the court.
He noted that if in the future the Navy wants to give defense programs to a private company, such as NAVAL MARITIME of Elefsina, in fact, the then Navy can put any condition it wants on any private company.
He emphasized that “the government did not want a consolidation plan that would depend on any programs of the Navy. This is a wrong model of the past. We want to build a shipyard according to the standards that the Neorio Shipyard operates today on a much larger area. the battle is to achieve two things. That the workers are not fired, that their work is guaranteed and that they do not lose what the previous company owed them”.
He stated that there is no other investor, the process of direct negotiation with ONEX was done by the previous government and after Alpha made a tender three times that became barren with no one interested. From time to time, the minister said, “some Funds and entrepreneurs appeared, but when we called them and made an appointment, they did not appear”.
Source: Capital
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