AActiv-ist Collective:

SYNDICALIST GUERILLA IN TECUCI

Workers from "Amep Pack" apealed to rubber water pipes and petrol bombs to stop the foreign investors to get inside the yard of the company Romania has all the chances to loose in this fall, at the International Court of Referees in The Hague, the fight with the polish-american company "Pol-Am Pack", the dispute is connected to the investment in the "Ampep Pack" SA Tecuci, one of the two romanian producers of metalic packaging for the alimentation and chemic industry. Even tough they own over 90% of Amep Pack, since march 2001, the polish company with american capital had no right to vote (veto right) in the Council of Administration, neither acces to the factory in Tecuci. The reason? The Council of Administration (which was not recognised by the polish people), the small associates and the union blame the company "Pol-Am Pack" of overevaluation of the investment. The general DA Tanase Joita started a procedure and the Supreme Court of Justice recognised the right to vote of the polish people. The New Administration Council, named by the polish, was still kept at the gates of the factory. Even for the day of America, on 4th of July,2003, a real fight took place at the factory in Tecuci, with rubber water pipes, petrol bombs, gas, the syndicate being determined to take any means necessary to not let the polish into the factory. The scandal was later mediated by the local governor of Galati county, Traian Mindru, but it’s far away from being solved.

The fight in Tecuci

One of the american investors which had problems in the romanian bussiness environement is the "F&P" holding. The group is the main stock holder/owner of the polish company "Pol-Am Pack", which owns ower 90% from the company "Amep Pack SA" in Tecuci. For over 2 years, as a consequence of some conflicts related to the social capital, the Administration Council of the factory - not recognised by the polish- suspended to the polish the right to vote and forbid them the right to enter the factory . After severel trials lost by the polish in Tecuci, Galati and Bacau, the sentence who recognised the suspespension of the right to vote for polish people remained final. The general DA Tanase Joita initiated an apeal, and the Supreme Court of Justice re-gave the right to vote to the polish. The new administrators of the society - Isabela Camelia Stefanuc and Lezec Wierzchowski - were registrated at the Register of Commerce, and the ex-administrators - Luminita Mosescu and Michal Placzynta - were wiped aut from the evidences of the register. The situation from the papers couldn’t be put in practice because the sindicate members barricaded themselves into the factory and stopped, violently, any attempt to to enter inside the factory. The syndicalists blocked the doors to the entrance and made higher the fences, used rubber water pipes, and made petrol bombs - and even use one of them -, they threaten to blow up the building with oxygen canisters, they throw into the with anything that got in theyr hands. The security company hired by the polish to take care of the factory did not pull back, using sticks and gas. Also, the polish ordered the stoping of gas, alimentation, telephone lines and electricity.

Manual for (un)syndicalist fight/struggle

The syndicate - represented by Zaharia Fotache, Toma Negoita, Ghita Hodorogea and Giani Chitic -put on the table of the new administrators a project of protocol in which they engaged to allow the entrance of the new bosses in the factory and to stop the conflict, and starting to work if the polish owners will respect the following demands: 1. To take all the necessary measures for the normalisation of the production process (supplying, selling, execution of economic contracts, repairing the machines); 2. not to deconstruct and take out of the factory machines which are owned by this; 3.to maintain the contract with the "Scutul" company from Tecuci; 4.to go on with the economical contracts made by the old adminstration; 5.not to be paid any restant pays (including to the majoritary stock holder of the company), which are the the topic of commercial conflicts untill the clearing of the situtaion in court; 6.not to be hired in the factory, without the agreement of the syndicate, of persons from the old administration which were fired in the period 2001-2003; 7.not to get new materials for working from intermediaries but directly from the producer; 8.not to start with the breaking and suspending of the work contracts of the present workers not matter on what reasson until the clarification of the situation, and after this, to do it only respecting the existing laws; 9.to drop the suspension of the working contracts of the 2 ex-members of the Administrations Council, until the final solving of the conflicts regarding the administration of the company; the polish should not intend tricky and unjustified penal complaints against against the old administration or other workers; 10.to take urgent measures for deblocking the bank accounts of the company, and also reestablish the phone line connection and establishing the persons guilty of damages created to the company by these actions; 11.to respect the written Collectiv Working Contract at a factory level and to adapt it to the new Code of Work. Considering that only the last demand has a syndicalist nature, the polish refused to sign the agreement, and so the conflict will follow to be mediated by the local governor of Vaslui county, Traian Mandru.

EACH PERSON WITH HIS JUSTICE

Following the mediation, the syndicalists have gave up to open conflict, allowed the units from the gendarmerie to guard the factory, and agreed to re-start the work and inventariation of the factory. Still, they keep believing that they are right, that the only thing they did is to protect the workingplaces, and the actual conflict has started because the polish have over evaluated the machines that they brought as theyr part to the social capital. Ex-administrators, Mosescu and Placinta, say that they have nothing to do with the conflict between the syndicate and the new administration, they acuse they media for not presenting the real situation from Tecuci and they say that they are paying now for putting a light on the illegalities that the polish do. The polish say that the leaders of the syndicate used the workers as a mass for manoeuvre and pressure for the support of the interests of the old administrators, Mosescu and Placinta. So, none is to be blamed, everybody is right. One thing is clear: the signal for the foreign investors is one disapointing, the situtaion in Tecuci being as critical as in the Syderurgical Combinate in Resita. But this time, Romania is sued in Den Hague, and a bad result would mean a “bye bye” said to the serious/big foreign investors, already scared by the romanian bussiness climate.

I strongly believe that the decision made in favor of the poles was a political one , the judge sent by the "Registry of commerce" was influenced by the secretary of state Costache Ivanov from the Justice Department. If we made excesses it was to maintain our jobs. The factory was built by us from the very beginning. We demand the cancelation of the contract with "Pol-Am Pack". There are local investors who are willing to invest in the factory. After the 4th of July conflict the police made penal folders for 9-12 persons. I am also targeted, and the administrators Placinta and Mosescu. It’s not fair. We were incited to react like that by the forceful entrnce made by the bodyguards(mercenaries) of the poles. The Police and the Gendarmerie did not defend us, so we had to defend ourselves. (Zaharia Fotache, leader of the syndicate) We can not leave the factory in 5 minutes. Only then we are guilty. The discharge of the financial administration means defending our freedom. The gist of the problem remained unsolved. There are penal folders with thousands of pages, against the polish administrators, which brought junk iron, reconditioned as equipments, with hundreds of thousands of dollars. The gist of the problem is being avoided by the media. The decision is a political one. We are sacrificed. Do you dare to write the truth ? The main guilt bearer is APAPS, which did not respect the postprivatization agreement. They are going to close the factory and buy packing from Poland. The problem of closing the factory does not even come into discussion. We want to work, but how can we work without knowing the exact situation of the factory ? Until the hearing any forecast is unreal.