Disabled “Ferro Worker”

Tamta Kakauridze, Zestaponi

Former employees of the Zestaponi ferroalloy factory have been waiting for their salaries for several years already. Their health was seriously damaged by hard and harmful work. After the bankruptcy of the JSC “Ferro”, the company accumulated the debt of several thousands of GEL. Despite requests, demands and protest rallies, the debt is not paid yet.

Source of the Problem

Former employees of the JSC “Ferro” have not received salaries since March, 2007. After that they have sent hundreds of suits to the court and won trials. However, the problem is bankruptcy of the company. As for the new company “Georgian Manganez, Ltd”, according to the purchase agreement signed on December 13, 2006, the company has not assumed responsibility to pay allowance to those people.

Ia Darbaidze, attorney of the former employees of “Ferro”: “These people suffer from professional traumas and diseases. They received monthly allowances for many years in accordance to the law – it was compensation for their health damage. On March 24, 2007, a resolution was signed by former prime-minister Zurab Noghaideli which stated that if a company is bankrupted, state is not responsible to pay allowances to former employees of the company. Based on this resolution, the state was discharged from the responsibility before these people. In accordance to purchase agreement signed on December 13, 2006, the state bankrupted the formally registered JSC “Ferro” and did not impose the responsibility of paying the allowance to disabled employees of the new enterprise “Georgian Manganez.”

It is noteworthy that enterprises do not avoid responsibility to pay the allowances to former employees even if the enterprise has new owner. It is prohibited by the law too. It is fact that there is an enterprise where these people were injured and it still continues old activities. Georgian Manganez owns the property of JSC “Ferro” and they have not changed the address either. The factory has changed only the owner who should have executed the responsibilities assumed in regard with these people. It was not envisaged in the purchase agreement signed on December 13, 2006; thus rights of the third people were breached who were left without compensation.”

Secret Agreement

After the victimized people lost allowances since March of 2007, they sued JSC “Ferro” because they had no information about the purchase agreement of December 13, 2006. Besides that, Public and Enterprise Registration Agency still had JSC “Ferro” registered in their data-base as an enterprise. The victims won trial; though court judgments were not executed. It turned out that JSC “Ferro” had neither administration nor any property.

Ia Darbaidze: “I petitioned to the government of Georgia, various institutions and Ministry of Finances of Georgia (they are defendant in our case now) several times; we requested them to find the property of the JSC “Ferro” in order to execute court decisions. By that time, basic capital of the enterprise according to the Enterprise Registration Agency was 29 million GEL. Nobody claimed that “Ferro” did not have property and everything was assigned to the Georgian Manganez. We were replied by the state institutions that they were looking for the property and promised to execute the court decision. When discussing the bankruptcy of the “Ferro”, the bankrupt manager Aleksandre Koroghlishvili provided the list of the enterprise property which demonstrated that entire property was sold. As for, basic capital – 29 million GEL, it did not exist at all. As it was cleared up during investigation, necessary changes were not made in the data-base of the Public Registration Agency on its time. It was confirmed, that the factory had sold all acts without passives.”

The Purchase agreement of December 13, 2006 demonstrates that the parties hid existence of the third party; they hid the fact that the enterprise had responsibility to pay allowances to those people.

Ia Darbaidze: ‘In this situation, it is clear that item of purchase had some faults on it; however, in parallel to it, since the purchaser suspected about the third party, they wrote in the articles 8.2 and 8.4 of the agreement that seller shall reimburse the damage of the third persons. Of course, the parties of the agreement have right to decide who will reimburse the damage. However, both are responsibility for the damage which could be compensated by the allowances for those people. We think, Georgian Manganez should be imposed with the responsibility to pay the compensations to those people who got disabled in the enterprise.”

Left without Allowance

What shall about 400 disabled people do before court procedures finish? It is the main question of the attorney of the victimized people. The reply is not very pleasant for them. The people, who sacrificed their health to the “Ferro”, remained without any social allowances.

Lawfully, JSC “Ferro” is not responsible for the allowance. In accordance to the current law, the state is also free from all responsibilities. The victimized employees of “Ferro” think everybody was unfair with them.

Nugzar Gotsadze, former employee of “Ferro”: I worked for the “Ferro” for 48 years. I have large amount of Manganum in my blood and every day I should take medicines. This allowance was enough only for that medicine. We have not received anything for 2 years already. We have appealed to every instances of court. In the past, they at least promised to help us, but now nobody pays attention to us.”

One of the people who has professional disease is Nikoloz Kvetenadze, who recalls his professional past as follows. “I was in the 10th form of the secondary school when I was taken to the factory to work. Since then I worked there for 17 years. In 1966 doctors diagnosed terrible disease; professional intoxication with Manganum. I am disabled at 100 %. I received allowance for many years. But today, I do not get anything.”

Besides the people with professional diseases and trauma, “Ferro” was responsible before the families of former employees. The enterprise paid monthly allowance to the families whose members had died because of professional diseases. Now, these families do not know how to live on.

Tamar Katamadze: “My husband worked at the “Ferro.” He died during his professional activities. I have to little children and relatives help me.”

Former employees of the “Ferro” are waiting for the final judgment of the court. They hope the court will satisfy their appeal; though it is still difficult to predict whether the story finish with happy-end or not.