Gates of "ICA" Ghimbav remain locked

Some 50 workers of Construcţii Aeronautice Ghimbav continued their protests this week by denying access inside the premises. Workers haven"t been paid since April, and they are unhappy that a solution has yet to be found for them to receive their money, as the State refused to liquidate the company, which would have allowed workers to receive their outstanding salaries from the Wage Guarantee Fund.

Unionists said their protests would continue until a solution for paying the overdue wages is found.

The Board of Administration of Aeronautical Constructions Ghimbav (ICA) last week notified the Ministry of the Economy that the company is insolvent, said the leader of the unionists on the IAR platform, Şuba Arpad. He said that "one item on the agenda of the next Meeting of the Shareholders will be a share capital increase by performing a debt/equity swap". Şuba Arpad further said that if the shareholders do not agree with the debt conversion which is part of the restructuring plan (according to general manager Traian Tomescu), the members of the board of administration will have no choice but to declare the company insolvent.

On the other hand, general manager Traian Tomescu says insolvency is not an option, as the company is currently in receivership. What"s more, as ICA Ghimbav is part of the defense industry, it can only be shut down with the approval of the Supreme Defense Council. "We have discussed taking out an 800,000 lei loan, and we will also take the necessary steps for our German partners to start paying us the USD 200,000 that they owe us", Mr. Tomescu said.