Let us recall, the agreement with the Social Side was concluded after the introduction of savings in other areas. Unfortunately, they proved to be insufficient and wage agreement turned out to be the only chance for a failing company. The company did not have cash on hand, and was able to pay wages only thanks to prepayments from the coal consumers.
Thanks to the agreement with the trade unions, the company managed to save on labor costs nearly 2 billion PLN. - We realize that these austerity measures are very burdensome for the entire crew, but necessary to save the company - says Tomasz Gawlik, CEO of JSW.
Thanks to a compromise with the Social Side and austerities, the Board was able to come to the agreement with bondholders, namely PKO BP S.A., BGK, PZU S.A. and PZU Życie S.A. The new schedule for the repayment of bonds was set for the amount of approximately PLN 1.3 billion. The agreement also envisages reducing the amount initially agreed to repay the bonds in the initial period and extending the repayment period by five years, so till 2025.
On 29 August 2016, a restructuring agreement was signed, which enabled the company to catch financial breath and it is a key element of the restructuring program implemented in the company.
Any changes in agreement of September 2015 with the Social Side are very dangerous for the company. Such alterations carry a risk of breach of contract by the banks and the need for immediate repayment of debt.
- In this situation, each of the bondholders, according to a signed agreement would immediately requested repayment of the obligations. And that means bankruptcy and the loss of over 21,000 jobs and the next thousands at the companies cooperating with JSW - explains Tomasz Gawlik, CEO of JSW. - Now we need to show patience and rebuild our potential, because in recent years we have reduced our investments to a minimum. It is necessary to rebuild the mining front. We all understand that without this we are not able to maintain the desired level of coal production - says the CEO.
- We know the expectations of the staff, especially, when employees received much lower Barbórka bonus than in previous years. I realize that many do not like these changes, but the goal is one - we want to save this company and jobs. At this point, we cannot afford changing the agreement, which protects us from bankruptcy.
Today, many organizations that did not participate in the process of saving the company from financial collapse protests and denies the action taken by, in our opinion, responsible trade unions. There are voices calling for protests and ignoring organizations that seriously engage in the repair process of our company. We appreciate the unions, that understand the situation and really want to defend the crew and jobs - says CEO of JSW.
