Corridor 10 highway a hostage to debt

Instead of building roads, Nibens Group road workers have ended up blocking them in order to get paid.

By Biljana Pekusic for Southeast European Times in Belgrade -- 13/08/2011

Road construction workers in Serbia. [Reuters]

Workers at Serbia's largest road construction company, Nibens Group, say they have not been paid for months -- even though they are building the country's most important transportation artery and maintaining 40% of the roads.

The artery, connecting Belgrade with the border crossing at Horgos, Hungary, is part of the EU's Corridor 10.

Nibens is awash in debt, with all of its proceeds going to pay off its creditors. It reportedly owes around 130m euros to 14 different banks. The loans are extremely expensive with yearly interest rates of up to 36% . That leaves little if anything for worker salaries.

In May, meanwhile, owner Milo Djurashkovic, was arrested on suspicion of illegally taking 32m euros from one of his firms.

"The comany entered contracts [following Djurashevic's arrest] which stipulate that all revenues from our future business will go directly to them, leaving nothing for wages and work-related capital," Nibens worker Djuro Trivunac told SETimes.

Taking to the roads last month, the workers managed to exert pressure and obtain payment for the month of April. That still leaves weeks of back wages unpaid, however.

"A one-month salary means nothing," said Milan Jovanovic, who heads the Nibens branch of the Beograd road construction worker's union. "We still have no means to do work, no oil, no bitumen, no spare parts nor any money to register the trucks."

The protest will continue until the workers receive all the money they are owned and until the company provides sufficient resources to finish the job, he added.

Sebrian police, however, have moved to prevent worker demonstrations at the Corridor 10 site, on the basis of a government decision last year which prohibits the blocking of roads.

Milutin Gasevic -- a point person for the Nibens Group – told SETimes that the company reached an agreement with the banks and the government two months ago. "But that agreement was not implemented," Gasevic said.

Late last month, Nibens' union representatives met with Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic. He said his expectation is that the 14 banks will resolve the problem and open the company's frozen accounts.

Union representatives however, were not satisfied. They say the banks and government are spinning the situation.

"How is it possible that the our company owner obtained so many loans? He could only [have done so] with the help of the state," Independent Road Workers Union of Serbia President Sonja Vukanovic told SETimes.

A representative from AIK Bank said the banks simply agreed to restructure the existing of system of doing business and it is the government's responsibilitiy to provide compensation for back salaries.

The government says the opposite -- that it is the banks' turn to act. Meawhile the machines at Corridor 10 are silent and still.

Source: SETimes.com