Hundreds of former workers of Nova železara Zenica have been applying to the Employment Office in recent days after production in the company was stopped, and an agreement on the continuation of work has not yet been reached.
Among the workers looking for a new job are those with decades of experience in the Zenica ironworks. After paying off the equipment, they started applying to the bureau, while the future of the company is still uncertain.
The Government of the Federation of BiH, after several days of negotiations, offered two solutions to the management of Nova Zeljezara. One is the purchase of a share of private capital in the company, and the other is the rental of the entire business entity in order to continue production and save jobs.
The Government’s condition was that the company’s management refrain from initiating bankruptcy proceedings. The management of Nova Zeljezara, however, did not accept the offered solutions.
The federal government has announced that it will use all available legal means to try to preserve production and jobs, while the union fears that all employees could end up at the office.
For the workers, the uncertainty is especially great because many have spent most of their working life in the ironworks.
“We are applying to the bureau, it is our obligation. What will happen next is uncertain. This city will be 100 percent dead,” said former employee of Nova Zeljezara Zenica, Mustafa Kadrić.
According to the estimates of the Union of Metalworkers of the Zenica-Doboj Canton, about 900 thousand BAM per month would be needed for compensation for workers who would lose their jobs, or more than 10 million BAM per year.
The fate of the Nova Zeljezara thus remains open, while the workers wait for a concrete solution that would enable the continuation of production and the preservation of jobs.
The large amounts of black smoke that reappeared from the chimney of the Tuzla Thermal Power Plant caused the dissatisfaction of the residents of the surrounding settlements. Citizens gathered again and protested because of, as they say, problems with air pollution.
The problem is being discussed today at the session of the Tuzla City Council, while Elektroprivreda BiH says that it is a short-term problem.
The appearance of thick black smoke has reopened the issue of the impact of the thermal power plant on air quality and the health of residents living near it.
Residents of the surrounding settlements are seeking more specific information about the causes of the smoke, as well as answers about what measures are being taken to reduce pollution.
A discussion in the Tuzla City Council should provide more information about the current situation, while citizens are awaiting answers from the relevant institutions and Elektroprivreda BiH.
The problem of air pollution in Tuzla has been one of the key issues for residents of this city for years, especially during periods of more intensive operation of industrial and energy plants.
