Even though some talks are currently being held with representatives of the company owned by General Ivan Cermak - Crodux Plin - and of which the government has not been officially notified, it will be difficult to salvage the Dina petrochemical plant, Finance Minister Slavko Linic said in Varazdin on Monday and announced that the Turkish Caliskan company was to blame for an agreement to salvage Dina falling through and that the government would instigate proceedings against it.
Linic was asked by reporters to comment on the fate of Dina Petrokemija in Omisalj on the island of Krk, seeing that a contract with the Turkish investor had fallen through.
Minister Linic considers the Caliskan company responsible because it has not restarted production at the plant as promised.
"If they have not restarted production since July last year, then I'm not sure what they are still doing here. I believe that they are personally responsible for this failure because the government had come to an agreement with creditors, we initiated pre-bankruptcy proceedings and received an offer for the land to be purchased for a future LNG terminal. We have done our part to salvage the plant", Linic said.
He added that the government was preparing to file suits against Caliskan for EUR 5 million the government put up as a guarantee, for unpaid wages to workers while the Caliskan was running the company, and finally for losses caused to the local self-government during that time.
The proceedings will be heard before a Croatian court and we will prove that they did not act as a serious partner, said Linic.
Asked why the government issued a guarantee, Linic said that the primary aim of the guarantee was to secure employee wages, and that the government did not select Caliskan as a potential partner, but that this decision was made by Dina's management.
Earlier on Monday, around 200 former employees of the Dioki petrochemical plant in Zagreb blocked entrance to the company's administration building, demanding that they be paid back pays and severance packages. After speaking with the company's management, workers decided that they would stage a protest rally next week in St. Mark's Square outside the government's offices.
Dina Petrokemija is a subsidiary of Dioki.
Last year Dioki underwent restructuring and 350 employees agreed to be laid off with severance packages and that seven outstanding wages be back-paid, while about 100 workers were to keep their jobs. An agreement was signed according to which half their dues would be paid by February 15.
It is time the government started paying its dues, we are not seeking anything more, just what we have earned, former worker Bojan Kovacevic said. He questioned whether any minister would be prepared to work for seven months and not be paid.
The company's management called on workers to be patient a little longer as they were conducting intensive negotiations that could salvage the company and facilitate their payment.
The Crodux Plin company owned by General Cermak recently submitted a letter of intent to invest into the Dioki plant as a strategic partner.
