site.btaTrade Unions Don't Rule Out Radical Action for Dunarit Jobs after Licence Suspension

Trade Unions Don't Rule Out Radical Action
for Dunarit Jobs after Licence
Suspension


Sofia, March 10 (BTA) - The trade unions at Dunarit do not rule
out radical action in defence of jobs after the company's
licence was suspended. The company manufactures aviation,
artillery and engineering ammunition and articles for civilian
use.

After meeting with Economy Minister Bozhidar Loukarski, Diana
Georgieva, leader of the company's chapter of the Confederation
of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, told journalists: "We
will not stop at blocking roads to keep our jobs." The leader of
the local chapter of the Podkrepa trade union, Stoil Georgiev,
also took part in the meeting. Both union leaders were
dissatisfied with it.

He said the nearly 30-member Interdepartmental Council on
Defence Industry and Security of Supply decided unanimously to
suspend the licence for four months instead of six as required
by law because the licence expires at the end of June. The
Economy Minister again recalled that the decision had been
prompted by classified reports provided by the services about
economic and financial instability.

Loukarski said the Interdepartmental Council had come up with
two options for the company's operation.

A suspended licence does not mean that production must stop
because the output can be exported using the licences of other
companies of the military-industrial complex, said Loukarski.
However, Stoil Georgiev argued that Dunarit had signed contracts
with a specific company and no one can say if export through a
third company is feasible. "It seems that someone wants to rake
in part of the revenue from these exports," he said.

The second option suggested by the Interdepartmental Council is
that the management should find out the reasons for the
suspension, which are classified information, by appealing
against the decision. The reasons may be eliminated during the
appeal procedure and then the Interdepartmental Council may
revoke the suspension of the licence, said Loukarski.

He explained that the Council's decision can be challenged by
the end of the week and the management has not done it yet. The
trade unions said the appeal would be filed with the court on
Wednesday at the latest.
PK/DD


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