The Croatian metal workers trade union has called on the government to convene an urgent session of the commission in charge of the sale of the Rijeka-based "3. maj" shipyard, the shipyard's union steward, Juraj Soljic, said on Tuesday, explaining that the reasons for this proposal was information that the only serious bidder for the shipyard, the Austrian A-tec concern, has allegedly filed for bankruptcy proceedings in Vienna.
Therefore, the trade union asks the chairman of the government's commission for the shipyard's sale, Rudjer Friganovic, to convene the commission's session immediately.
The trade unions asks the commission to check data on the solvency of the Austrian concern and on its ability to pay its liabilities, amidst speculations that it has gone bankrupt.
The 3. maj workers' council president, Nada Jelinic-Starcevic, has recently told a news conference that the A-tec officially filed for bankruptcy with the Vienna commercial court on 20 October.
The trade union says that it has been treating the bid made by A-tec as unacceptable since the start of the bidding procedure, as the Austrian concern refuses in its bid to sign a social agreement on the maintenance of the main business line and jobs in the shipyard.
The union recalls that the bidder has not offered valid guarantees in the event of its failure to meet requirements from the restructuring plan and the sales agreement.
The last meeting of the above-mentioned commission was held on 25 August.
The Croatian Competition Agency has said that it has forwarded to the European Commission programmes for restructuring the shipyards in Rijeka and Split.
The agency "communicated to the European Commission the restructuring plans for Brodogradjevna industrija Split d.d. and Brodogradjevna industrija 3. maj d.d. It must be noted that these restructuring plans were first submitted to the Croatian Competition Agency in August 2010 and had to be revised on a number of occasions by the investors Div d.o.o. and Crown Investment GmbH respectively. At this moment the restructuring plans are considered decent enough to undergo a joint assessment by the Commission, CCA (agency) and joint consultants," the agency said in a statement issued on its web site.
The loss of the 3. maj shipyard in the first nine months of 2010 came to HRK 139.3 million, redoubling from the comparable period last year, according to a consolidated unrevised financial statement of the company released on the Zagreb Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
