Supreme Court of FBiH Overturns Verdicts Against Managers: Granit Workers Trust in State Institutions

The Supreme Court of FBiH issued a ruling on February 23, 2016, overturning the verdicts of the Municipal and Cantonal Courts in Sarajevo, which had awarded former managers and a number of their associates salaries for the entire duration of the bankruptcy proceedings, and ordered their reinstatement to the positions they held before the strike and the initiation of bankruptcy, according to a statement from the union of this company, as reported by the Patria news agency.

- It is incredible that these verdicts also awarded salaries in accordance with the management contracts they had concluded with Granit, which amounted to up to 5,000 KM. The total amount under these verdicts would exceed 3,000,000 KM, including calculated default interest.

Only by a miracle have we so far saved our company and saved our jobs, preventing forced payment under these verdicts, also based on various rulings in enforcement proceedings. The ruling of the Supreme Court of FBiH was preceded by a long and difficult struggle by Granit workers, who legally proved the absurdity and illegality of such verdicts, the statement reads.

- It all began back in late 2009 when Granit workers went on strike and protested against the crime unfolding before our eyes, destroying both our company and our jobs. That we were right is also shown by the criminal proceedings, based on a confirmed indictment, being conducted before the Court of BiH against the former director and a number of his associates. Unfortunately, these proceedings have been ongoing for almost 4 years.

The ruling of the Supreme Court of FBiH has restored our faith in state institutions and shown that justice is slow, but still attainable. Granit workers are determined to continue the fight for their company and their jobs, and to continue the century-old tradition of granite quarrying in Jablanica.

We are proud that our granite, among other things, adorns the UN building, the Berlin City Hall, the Academy of Sciences in Moscow, and there is hardly a city in the former state whose streets and sidewalks are not adorned with Jablanica granite. We will fight with all our might to ensure it remains so in the future, the Granit union statement emphasizes.