Rossijskaya Gazeta: “Icebreakers to the rescue”
Vladimir Putin put the Baltic Shipyard workers at ease.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin arrived at the Baltic Shipyard in St Petersburg, one of the nation's largest. There he spoke with the factory workers about a plan to save their facility and promised to increase wages.
This shipyard, that opened fifty years ago, today is on the brink of bankruptcy. The plant's history includes the first "Dolphin" submarine and the first nuclear icebreaker in the world, the "Lenin," which was also manufactured here in Soviet times. Nevertheless the plant is currently idle. The workers may not have lost their golden touch, but there is no work.
The out of work employees ask the prime minister if they should bother voting when "there is no work and life continues to get more difficult. Vladimir Putin encouraged them to cast their votes.
In addition to the election, the workers were also interested in fate of their own company. "Why don't we have any orders? We can work; we want to!" the head of the plant said to the journalists with a bit anguish.
Vladimir Putin addressed that question as well. During his trip to Cherepovets last September, the prime minister was told that the Baltic Shipyard is drowning in debt but then he promised to save the facility. The government acted immediately by engaging the deputy prime minister Dmitry Kozak in the process. At this meeting in St Petersburg Putin stated that current dilemma had been created "somewhat artificially."
"I will not go over all the details or point fingers ...who did what and how the factory got to this state, but the facts remain," stated the prime minister. He pointed out that the factory owed approximately 12 to 15 billion roubles, "a huge amount that is impossible to recover by the company alone. As a result, orders cannot be placed and normal work cannot be guaranteed. "
The company's creditors have filed for bankruptcy. The situation was exasperated by the unscrupulous actions of its former owner, according to Dmitry Kozak; legal processes were protracted to recover the money from the business. In early October the outstanding stocks were transferred to the Central Bank of Russia and an action plan devised to pay off employee salaries and to attract new orders, all in an effort to jumpstart the facility. "The plan is progressing and we are ahead of schedule," reported the deputy prime minister.
As a demonstration, several contracts were signed during the meeting. The agreements included the production of four new icebreakers, construction of a number of other nuclear icebreakers and utilisation of the Baltic Shipyard facilities to manufacture the hulls for two "Mistral" class amphibious assault ships.
None of this, however, will avert a bankruptcy. Dmitry Kozak put forth a plan that would allow the factory to become an independent legal entity, Baltzavod Shipbuilding. This new organization will be debt free. "Let the courts settle it!" Vladimir Putin said with an air of approval. "The people here should not carry this burden." He emphasised that no worker should be left on the sidelines.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin clarified that it would be senseless to transfer money to the company's accounts while the bankruptcy process was ongoing. "The money will go to the creditors rather than workers or towards production." Soon payments will be made on time; moreover, the prime minister delighted the workers with the announcement that January 1 would see a 25% wage increase.
Upon his return to the capital, the prime minister attended to matters of national significance. Vyacheslav Volodin (Chief of Staff of the Government Executive Office) reported that the "electronic government" project could begin as early as February in some regions. "The most important thing is to maintain momentum," commented Vladimir Putin. "We will try," assured Chief of Staff Volodin, and added that there were 10 regions "still lagging behind."
Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller informed the prime minister that there would be adequate gas supplies delivered to all Russian consumers who will be able to easily make it through the cold winter.
Alexei Miller also reported on the results of Beltransgaz issue: "The documents for the ownership of the remaining 50% have been duly processed. Now Gazprom has full ownership of Beltransgaz." The company is now in the process of dovetailing the work of Beltransgaz into the operation of the national integrated gas supply system. At the end of the discussion, Vladimir Putin noted that the wages of Belarusian employees should be doubled. "This is your company now," said the prime minister.
Kira Latukhina
