"Plantations" have no money for salaries, on the verge of bankruptcy

The workers of "Plantaž" cannot expect the payment of back wages because the company is no longer liquid (there is no money to pay obligations) and is on the verge of bankruptcy if it does not urgently receive significant help from the state, it was stated in yesterday's letter from the executive director of the company, Miroslav Vuković, to the union representatives .

"If we direct the liquidity we don't have (which we won't have without the support of the state) exclusively to meet the justified social needs of the employees, the company will certainly face bankruptcy. What will be the social security of employees after that? Unfortunately for us, there is no need to guess, we have illustrative examples all around us, and there will be, depending on the circumstances, even more", stated Vuković in a letter that "Vijesti" had access to.

The company previously asked the Government for five million in aid in order to pay priority obligations and avoid possible bankruptcy. Prime Minister Zdravko Krivokapić and Minister of Agriculture Aleksandar Stijović visited "Plantaže" at the beginning of February, when they promised that they would do everything to enable the survival of the company in accordance with the legal possibilities. They also announced that all decisions of the former administration will be reviewed. The former, long-time president of the board of "Plantaža" Veselin Vukotić left the company in September of last year, while the long-time director Verica Maraš was dismissed in October and assigned to the position of advisor.

The company owes the workers January and February wages, and in yesterday's letter, Vuković responded to the union's demands for their payments, stating that he shares his concern for their standards. The company has credit obligations of around 15 million euros, as well as 20 million other obligations. In 2019, it operated with a loss of one and a half million euros, while the loss from last year is not yet known.

The company was doing poorly even before the corona virus

Vuković states that the company's current financial problems did not arise only due to the drop in sales due to the pandemic, but that they were on the verge of insolvency earlier in 2019.

"The company's current financial problems, which are reflected in its illiquidity (which is on the verge of insolvency), certainly stem from the latent illiquidity that preceded the pandemic of the infectious disease covid-19, and which turned into a chronic one after the outbreak of the epidemic in Montenegro. Therefore, the epidemic only accelerated the company's financial collapse, which would certainly have happened a little later," said Vuković.

He states that the company, apart from the wages of its employees, also has debts to the tax authorities, suppliers and creditors and that it must pay them in accordance with the concluded legal affairs and with respect to the priorities regulated by the laws of Montenegro, i.e. that no group, not even the employees, can have priority because the others could introduce bankruptcy.

Vuković states that in the past months, since the dismissal of former director Verica Maraš, who is now formally his advisor, the company has received a huge number of lawsuits from former and current employees and associates, and that they are losing huge amounts of money on that basis.

"We cannot ask for help and raise wages"

He also believes that, due to all these negative events, the requested negotiations with the union regarding the increase in wage coefficients are pointless, when the survival of the company is in question.

"For this reason, we believe that many of our activities become pointless and meaningless, because without the help of the state we will no longer be able to agree and negotiate on anything, for example on the already 'traditional' monthly determination of the calculation value of the coefficient, because it is already determined at the level state in the minimum amount of 90 euros. Considering that the company asks and expects help from the state, you will admit that even for the one who helps, it is unacceptable for this value to exceed this amount determined at the state level. Undoubtedly, our social dialogue is limited by the discouraging objective state of things in the company, even regardless of all valid legal norms and the narrative based on it, which certainly - if something does not change in that part - places that dialogue in the unrealistic framework of its future existence. and the survival of the company in general", stated Vuković.

Salaries for workers were reduced in 2019 and then last year.

"Collective agreement - a legal monster"

He claims that the upcoming negotiations between the management and the union should be based on a detailed understanding of all the problems that the company has every day in business, as well as that new risks would arise "as a result of taking any irrational, unreasonable and hasty steps".

"Since the current collective agreement is unsustainable, we believe that the time is right for the initiative of the trade union organization, which should support the efforts of the executive management to dismantle this 'legal monster'. Otherwise, the accounting provisions that the company will soon have to make according to IRS 37 (unpaid wages, severance pay, risk of new employee disputes against the company, etc.), will actualize the bankruptcy of the company as the only possible solution. Bearing in mind the above, in the world of official information that was presented to you orally (during earlier meetings) and in writing, I invite you to think about everything and specify the minimum requirements aimed at solving the pressing social needs of employees", said Vuković.

The letter was also delivered to the president of the board of directors, Božo Mihailović. According to "Vijesti" information, the trade union organization "Plantaža" should make a decision regarding the situation in the company in the coming days.

Illegal actions of the previous administration "knowingly and willingly" caused millions of damages

Vuković states that the company is now being charged huge sums of money through enforcement proceedings based on disputed claims created by the former management.

"When we talk about jeopardizing the company's liquidity, we should especially refer to its employees who, in the period after the changes in the executive management, through executive civil proceedings, collected huge monetary claims created by the previous management, which made it impossible for the company to pay even a part of their colleagues money they earned. At your request, we will provide the trade union organization with information about former and current employees of the company, who have forcibly collected claims that - in terms of legal basis and amounts - resulted from the illegal actions of the previous administration, which were carried out knowingly and willingly to the detriment of the company. There should be no dispute about the following - that the company did not pay out millions of euros on behalf of the so-called (pest) limits and other grounds, the current financial situation would be significantly more favorable, earnings would possibly not be delayed, social problems would not accumulate", said Vuković.