THE UNIONS ACCUSE: Politically appointed professional managers in state owned companies

• BNS and Cartel Alfa are asking the government not to do privatizations involving controlling interests

The unionists of the National Union Block (BNS) and Cartel Alfa complained to the IMF, the European Commission and the World Bank that the process for the selection of professional managers in state owned companies is flawed, because it is politicized.

Ion Pisc, the prime vice-president of the BNS, said: "The appointment of the professional managers is a process which we have supported in order to depoliticize the state owned companies. Except, that is precisely what is not happening. The government continues to get involved in the appointment of the Boards of Directors and of the managers. In order for this process to be depoliticized, professional management needs to be selected exclusively based on the human resources company, based on criteria set by the government. Or, at the moment, the government is the one that selects the resumes out of those shortlisted by the human resources company".

He mentioned "Complexul Energetic Oltenia" as an example: "The head-hunting firm collected 30 resumes, shortlisted ten, and the coordination committee made up of representatives of the government picked five. None of those have any expertise in the area and are politically appointed. With the exception of Constantin Bălăşoiu, who has a lengthy experience in the system and in the management of thermoelectric units, the other members selected for the Supervisory Board are people who are politically appointed, without any connection to the energy industry - such as Marian Untescu, Gheorghe Udrişte, Gavril Baican".

In a communiqué, the representatives of the National Union Block and those of Cartel ALFA" claim that, when it comes to private management in state-owned companies, they have warned the major international institutions about the fact that "the political managers of the Băsescu-Boc regime were transferred and bought the favors of the current government, in complicity with the consulting firms paid hundreds of thousands of Euros with public money".

When it comes to the process for the privatization of the companies in which the state is the majority shareholder, the representatives of the two union confederations have expressed their opinion that neither the previous governments, nor the current one did anything to help the troubled companies, in other words those with losses. "The only measure which was considered by the political decision makers was the sale of the majority stakes in profitable companies, thus turning Romania into an economic colony", the unionists claim. The press release also states: "Given the fact that in this period of crisis, the sale of the stock of profitable companies is done for insignificant valuations, the unions have proposed the method of privatization through contributions to the share capital, (45-49%), together with the delegation of the management attributions over a period of a maximum of five years, and with the sale of the remaining stock to be done gradually, over a longer time frame".

Ion Pisc said that the privatization of the majority stakes needs to happen in companies which are losing money, not in those which are profitable. He claims that the majority stakes need to be sold in the thermoelectric plants such as Galaţi, Brăila, Borzeşti and Doiceşti, which have been losing money for years, not in Complexul Oltenia - a profitable company, with over one billion Euros in turnover and with a market share of approximately 30% of Romania's energy output.

The unionists claim that the Government needs to stop the process of economic colonization of Romania, through the sale of state owned companies at a completely unfavorable moment.