INA-MOL destroys Energopetrol, 200 workers laid off so far

Since the Hungarian-Croatian oil consortium INA-MOL became the majority owner of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Energopetrol, more than 200 people have been laid off, writes the Bosnian news agency Patria.

Energopetrol's wholesale division is no longer operational, and salaries for workers at petrol stations have been reduced from 1,400 to 600 KM. But that is not all. Well-informed sources from this company reveal to the Bosnian news agency Patria that the management plans around 60 new layoffs, and those who remain are being blackmailed by management in the manner of „accept our rules of the game or leave.“

The owner cannot be prohibited from laying off workers - says Patria's interlocutor, adding that the way the new owner treats the workers is problematic.
People from Sarajevo are being sent to work units in Tuzla or other distant cities. In this way, pressure is exerted for workers to resign voluntarily. Workers who have been with Energopetrol for 20 or more years are now being sent to petrol stations designated for closure, and thus workers end up on the street – says our source.

The entry of the INA-MOL consortium into Bosnia and Herzegovina was met with great optimism, expectations of new investments and new jobs. But the opposite happened.

The Patria news agency will soon publish a story about 200 lawsuits filed by Energopetrol workers against this company, violations of employment contracts, mobbing by the new owner against workers, nepotism in the company, excessive workload for workers...