Trade unionists demand the exclusion of Zakłady Azotowe "Puławy" from Grupa Azoty

Związkowcy domagają się wyłaczenia Zakładow Azotowych "Puławy" z Grupy Azoty

Trade unions in Grupa Azoty Puławy will file a motion with the management board of Grupa Azoty to exclude the Puławy plants from the group – reports the portal money.pl. Trade unionists from Puławy have also not signed an agreement with the group's management board on the suspension of the provisions of the Company Collective Labor Agreements (ZUZP). They agree to the suspension of some provisions of the agreement, but they also want to implement a new, more effective, in their opinion, savings program in the company.

Management's Ultimatum

On Tuesday, Grupa Azoty announced that the Management Boards of the Groups: Azoty SA, Azoty Police and Azoty Kędzierzyn have concluded agreements with trade unions on the suspension of selected provisions of the Collective Labor Agreements (ZUZP). However, talks with the unions in Puławy are still ongoing. "In the event of no agreement, the Management Board of Grupa Azoty Puławy will be forced to make a difficult decision to start the procedure for terminating the ZUZP," the company's authorities said in a statement.

Talks with potential partners for Grupa Azoty are the sole responsibility of the management board

The position of trade unions

In response to such an ultimatum, "Solidarity", OPZZ and the Trade Union of Continuous Movement Workers (ZZPRC) in Grupa Azoty Puławy presented their position and put forward demands. In the statement, they emphasized that the employees are not to blame for the difficult situation in Grupa Azoty, but they agree to suspend some provisions of the collective agreement. However, they demand "saving measures bringing specific amounts", which should be higher than those resulting from the management's proposal.

These actions include immediate cessation of hiring for management contracts and suspension of granting "quiet pay rises". Solidarity, OPZZ and ZZPRC also postulate suspension of logo fees that Azoty Puławy pays to Grupa Azoty.

They also demand an end to actions aimed at "depreciating union activists, including in particular attempts to exert pressure on them by harassing members of their families," the unionists wrote in a statement. As Money.pl has established, almost all family members of unionists have been stripped of their positions in the company's new organizational structure.

There is an agreement between Grupa Azoty and trade unions. This is the next stage of changes

Application for disconnection

The most important and most emotionally charged, however, is the demand to separate the Puławy plant from the entire group. Sławomir Wręga, chairman of the Continuous Movement Workers' Union in Puławy, argues in Money.pl that all unions agree that the earlier consolidation of the Azoty Group in 2012 was a huge mistake, as a result of which all plants in the group are now sinking.

– We will encourage the president of Grupa Azoty Puławy, Hubert Kamola, to accept the resolution of the management board of Zakłady Azotowe Puławy regarding submitting an application to the Polish government to exclude Zakłady Azotowe Puławy from Grupa Azoty – said Sławomir Wręga, chairman of the Trade Union of Continuous Flow Workers.

Senseless consolidation?

The head of ZZPRC argues that there are no positive effects of synergy between plants in the group. As he calculates, servicing the almost PLN 10 billion debt of Zakłady Azotowe in Police and Tarnów amounts to PLN 800 million annually. And this amount exceeds the financial capabilities of Grupa Azoty Puławy, since half of the Puławy plants are not working.

-On the one hand, our installations are being shut down so as not to compete with Tarnów and Police, on the other hand, there are expectations that we will service debts. It is impossible to function like this – Wręga told the portal. – It has led to the situation where we are currently being inundated with fertilizers from abroad, even though theoretically the cost of transport makes this procedure unprofitable – adds the union member.

According to Wręga, the negotiations on the suspension of the collective agreement in the company are in fact a smokescreen used to silence trade unionists who point out the pointlessness of further functioning in the Azoty Group. The savings that can be achieved as a result of suspending selected provisions of the agreement are insignificant compared to the debt of the entire group.

Difficult situation in Grupa Azoty. Will there be layoffs?

Many activities

The Grupa Azoty spokeswoman points out that agreements on the suspension of selected provisions of company collective agreements have already been reached in Grupa Azoty SA, Grupa Azoty Police, Grupa Azoty Kędzierzyn, and talks in Grupa Azoty Puławy are continuing. However, the signed agreements are "one of many actions aimed at stabilizing the financial and liquidity situation of the Group, as well as signing a long-term agreement with financial institutions".

Grupa Azoty is the second largest producer of nitrogen and multi-component fertilizers in the European Union. The State Treasury holds 33 percent of the company's shares. The concern employs over 15 thousand people.