Workers at Skaramanga Shipyards were stunned to hear the radical changes in their working schedules. The Arab-German management of the Shipyards decided to revolutionize the workers’ lives: As of 18. April 2012 workers will have to work in rotation one day per week and thus for a period of three months! At least 1,000 workers and their families are desperate to see how they will make ends meet with salaries equivalent to four day’s work per month. The management did not say what will happen after the period of three months.
The unprecedented decision caused outrage among the workers who launched a work stoppage and left to stage a protest rally outside the Ministry of Defense. Then the Skaramanga Shipyards build submarines for the Greek Navy.
“This measure is unfair, unrealistic, impractical, irresponsible and unworkable in a heavy industry company with specialized labor. It is destructive and dangerous for the company, its employees and the ongoing projects for the submarines needed by our Navy that are by the blood and sweat of the Greek people,” said the Skaramanga workers’ union in a statement.
In autumn 2010, Skaramanga Shipyards or Hellenic Shipyards S.A. was acquired by Privinvest Shipbuilding, an affiliated company of Abu Dhabi Mar of Lebanese businessman Iskandar Safa. Hellenic Shipyards was owned by German Thyssen-Krupp Marine Systems since 2002, after privatized by the Greek state.
Abu Dhabi Mar acquired 74.1% of the Thyssen-Krupp shares, which kept 24.9%.
“While under Thyssen-Krupp ownership, the shipyards had a purchase for the construction of four submarines Type 214 for the Greek Navy, as well as for the repair of submarine Papanikolis. When placing the order the state paid to ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems two billion euros out of the total four billion euros agreed. Since the outbreak of the financial problems the company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems becomes a debtor to the state, without submitting any one of four submarines Type 214. The “repaired” naval submarine “Papanikolis” appears to have a technical defect and when starting it dangerously begins to tilt to one side.
Abu Dhabi Mar took the order by the Greek Defense ministry to construct two submarines of type 214, as well as for the upgrading of two other old submarines Type 209. Abu Dhabi Mar has committed to meeting the orders, which will cost only an additional 175 thousand euros to the country except for the other two billion euros lost in ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems.”(Greek Reporter)
Newspaper To Vima noted that the management decision on rotation labour is anything but coincidental. “It has to be seen in the context of the Abu Dhabi Mar pressure to the Greek government to meet financial demands of 140 million euro, demands that have to do with the construction of two new submarines. ADM has repeatedly messaged the government that under the current circumstances it will not be able to keep 1,200 workers on long term.”
PS And the workers are again the stupid…
