The trade unions asked Elektroprivreda for answers about GEOLP, the FUP joined the investigation

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Photo: Fokus.ba

Executive director Senad Sarajlić tried to convince the trade unionists that everything is in accordance with the law. The formation of GEOLP also violated the Collective Agreement

After Fokus.ba revealed the criminogenic background of the establishment of the subsidiary GEOLP, which is 100 per cent owned by Elektroprivreda BiH, there followed an urgent meeting of the executive director of Elektroprivreda za production Senad Sarajlić with the directors of seven coal mines and representatives of the Independent Union of Mine Workers of FBiH.

Written by: A. DUČIĆ/Fokus.ba

According to this meeting’s transcript, which is in Fokus’ possession, the hot topic was GEOLP, that is, quotes from our text. Let us remind you that our portal has published information that SIPA is investigating suspicious circumstances under which GEOLP needs to take care of surplus workers from the mines, then about the announcement of the shutdown of the laboratories in the mines that would be transferred to GEOLP with the aim of determining the calorific value of coal anew. Everything, as we announced, is connected with the purchase of coal in huge quantities from private companies such as Lager from Posušje.

At the aforementioned meeting, held on January 24, Sarajlić tried to convince the representatives of the Trade Union that the new subsidiary GEOLP “has met all the conditions stipulated by law that need to be fulfilled in order to engage in the activities that have been established”, and that, according to the systematization, it will employ 97 workers. He stated that the transfer of workers to GEOLP will initially be done on a voluntary basis.

Since the Union, as we announced earlier, concluded that GEOLP represents a complete unknown to them, especially when it comes to their rights, Sarajlić stated that the workers in GEOLP will have the full possibility of establishing a union. The meeting was also attended by the director of GEOLP, Emir Aliefendić, who stated that “it is realistic to expect that the labour law and material status will be determined in accordance with the Collective Agreement of the Electricity Industry in FBiH”.

On the other hand, as we were told, with this the management of Elektroprivreda BiH and GEOLP are trying to retroactively extricate themselves from the illegality into which they started. Namely, GEOLP was founded on July 30, 2021, more than a year after the Collective Agreement on the Rights and Obligations of Employers and Workers in the Field of Mining in FBiH entered into force.

Article 39, paragraph 2 of this collective agreement, which, like a legal solution, regulates the rights of workers, states that “the employer is obliged not to assign the tasks of the registered activity to other legal or natural persons whose assignment would cause the termination of the employment contract of the workers employed by the employer”.

This is exactly what was done with the establishment of GEOLP and the entire process up to now in connection with the formation of this subsidiary, which violated the aforementioned collective agreement. As we learn, in addition to SIPA, the Federal Police Administration was also involved in the investigation, while at the same time the Trade Union, as confirmed to us, is completing the documentation in order to file a criminal complaint against the persons responsible in this process through an authorized legal representative.

At the meeting of Sarajlić with the directors of the mine and representatives of the union, the transcript reveals, what was also discussed was the true background of the establishment of GEOLP, which Fokus wrote about – the determination of the calorific value of coal.

At that meeting, representatives of the Independent Union of Mineworkers warned Sarajlić that serious and responsible treatment is being given to the mentioned activity and called on the management of coal mines to demand arbitration of samples on all occasions when the need is assessed.

As we stated in the earlier text, the EPBiH has already applied to the Accreditation Institute to disenfranchise the mines “Kreka” and “Kakanj” in terms of the laboratory, and to enable this activity to GEOLP. It is the calorific value of coal that affects the purchase price of coal, and there is the greatest scope for machinations, that is, spending money, including when it comes to the procurement of coal from the aforementioned private individuals. If the caloric value is lower, penalties are paid, and if it is higher, an additional premium is paid. The miners’ union has been pointing out for years that the EPBiH was harming the mines themselves by writing off thousands of tons of coal.

On the other hand, the question arises as to how it is possible that, for example, coal from Lager, which is purchased in huge quantities, meets the calorific value. This segment is also the focus of SIPA’s investigation. They are examining whether it is ultimately the intention of GEOLP to reduce the calorific value of the coal that comes from the mines within the concern and to increase the value of the coal from Lager in order to pay the premium.

By the way, the state-owned Elektroprivreda BiH has been paying fabulous sums for the purchase of coal to the private company Lager, which is burdened with numerous scandals, for a long time. Fokus previously addressed Elektroprivreda BiH with questions about GEOLP, but we have not received answers to date.

Fokus.ba