Chr. Staikouras: We want LARCO to stay upright – All employees are protected

“We want LARCO to stand up, not in words, but in deeds. Εργα Employees are protected immediately and effectively, in view of the completion of the competitive procedures for the transfer of the company’s assets. all employees “. The above was underlined by the Minister of Finance, Christos Staikouras, giving from the podium of the Parliament, answers to the fires he receives from the opposition, for the amendment submitted to the Parliament by the government for the company.

“We work for all employees and we seek the best, with deeds and not with words,” said the Minister of Finance and added: “Not only do we have no intention to close LARCO, but on the contrary, we want to strengthen LARCO and create even more jobs in the future “.

The date of submission of the binding offers of the potential investors is immediately imminent and consequently the completion of the evaluation and the bidding process to the bidder, which will arise in the framework of the two parallel bidding procedures, based on the bidding clause carried out by the special bidder. management for the assets of the company and by the HRDH, for the assets of the State “, said the Minister of Finance. The government, he assured, is taking measures to secure employees, ensuring a working future for all employees. In this direction, both for the transitional period until the completion of the tender procedures and the installation of the investor, but also after its installation, the labor rights are secured and packages of measures for their labor protection are specified.

“We are working to have an investor who will make the necessary modernization investments. Only then will it be possible to have an internationally competitive industry, important both for the electric power industry and for many other industries and applications. “Our focus is on the future, with respect for the employees, with respect for the efforts and anxieties of the local community but also for attracting reliable investors, which will ensure the viability of the mining and metallurgical activity of LARCO”, said Mr. Staikouras.

“For the first time in Greece, provisions are being made for the total of 1060 employees, in such a degree of specialization and readiness, as provided in the amendment”, said the Minister of Finance and explained that with the provisions introduced today for voting:

– Immediate and one-time payment of legal severance pay, amounting to 24 million euros, is foreseen, which will be paid from the reserve of the State Budget. “So we have given 53 million, plus 24 million, for all employees. And those who are retired and working,” said Mr. Staikouras.

– A safe working bridge is created, by establishing the possibility of concluding fixed-term, monthly or bi-monthly employment contracts, until the completion of the asset transfer process, by the special management for all employees, amounting to 7 million euros, an amount that will also paid from the reserve of the State Budget.

– Social and labor protection measures are defined by activating programs of the Ministry of Labor, depending on the category to which the employees belong. The Ministry of Labor is obliged to prepare special actions and special employment programs, co-financed or from national resources, in local authorities. There is already interest from municipalities for employees over 55 years old, until the fulfillment of the conditions for full pension and for a period of time not exceeding 7 years. “So these employees will receive the severance pay, and will continue to be paid until they retire, through the local government,” said Mr. Staikouras. For workers under the age of 55, who may not be hired, there are plans to activate actions to be funded by the European Globalization Adjustment Fund, for laid-off workers, he added.

– All employees, employees and employees with independent service or project contracts are protected, even for the period after the investor’s installation.

Commenting on the main accusation made by the opposition parties, for “a plan to discredit LARCO, inspired by Maximos”, the Minister of Finance said that mistakes have been made by many governments, but SYRIZA can not point a finger, because the evidence is relentless. for the period of his own government.

Mr. Staikouras also referred to the letter of Euclid Tsakalotos to the European Commission, during his ministry, which also referred to the privatization of LARCO.

“You say that the government and I personally want to close LARCO. But many of you do not know the history of LARCO. If we wanted to close LARCO, we would have closed it in 2012,” said Christos Staikouras. In this regard, he referred to an announcement of the employees of 11.6.2012, according to which, the closure of the company was avoided at that time, “on the initiative of ND and the MP of Fthiotida, Christos Staikouras”. In this climate, the Minister of Finance said that if ND wanted to close LARCO, it would have closed it in 2014. But then, as he stressed, ND made the right decisions, which “continued the SYRIZA government, but he did not dare to complete them. ”

But also for 2020, Mr. Staikouras underlined that, even then, the government did not close LARCO. That is, when, with two out-of-court settlements, PPC warned that if it is not paid, then LARCO closes. “We gave 53 million euros to LARCO, for PPC and for payroll. Tell me, when ever in the last 10 years, one euro came out of the state budget for LARCO?”, Said the Minister of Finance, adding: “We want it to stay LARCO stands, not in words but in deeds “.

The Minister paid special attention to the situation of LARCO in recent years, ie in the years when the company’s cash was zero, its net position was negative, due to accumulated losses, successive loss-making uses and wrong choices, as LARCO “operated for years with negative working capital, based on late payment of its liabilities “,” constantly came in, paid employees, owed everywhere “. In the five years 2015-2019, as he said, LARCO’s debts were 260 million euros, while in 2019 alone the losses were 99 million euros. At the same time, he stressed, the overdue debts to suppliers, contractors, banks, insurance funds were growing, “with the responsibility of all of us who have ruled in recent years,” as he characteristically stated.

“Greece, on January 21, was sentenced by the European Court of Justice for non-compliance with the decisions on illegal state aid to LARCO, amounting to 136 million euros, with interest of 170 million euros. A fine of 4.4 million was imposed on SYRIZA days. “euros per semester of delay until the execution of the decision – and a lump sum of 5.5 million euros,” said the finance minister. “Although many governments have tried to convince the European Commission that this state aid is not illegal, no government has succeeded in the last seven years,” Staikouras said.

The Minister of Finance said that the current government, in implementation of an EU decision, started the consolidation program and the company LARCO was put under special management status. The installation of special management, from March 2020, led to immediate actions to rationalize costs, at the operational and financial level with the contribution of employees. “I want to thank the employees who contributed these three years with the cuts they suffered, since the company was unable to continue with a loss of 99 million every year, as we found it in 2019,” said Mr. Staikouras.

SOURCE: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ