1,100 to lose their jobs in Szczecin shipyard restructuring

The management of the Szczecin shipyard has gone ahead with its own plans to lay off almost 1,100 workers, after failing to reach agreement with the unions on the level of redundancy payments. According to Wojciech Sobecki, the spokesman for the shipyard, since the two sides had still not reached any agreement by Saturday, the board of directors had issued its own regulations regarding the redundancy arrangements. The workers will lose their jobs as a result of the break-up of the shipyard and the formation of the Stocznia Szczecinska Porta Holding. The company had been having discussions with the five trade unions representing the workforce on the rules for the redundancies and the level of the compensation. Initially, zl.20 million had been set aside as a compensation fund. The redundancies, which affect around 20% of the shipyard's workers, will begin next month and be completed by March. The shipyard has this year been contracted to build 14 ships, valued at $420 million. (Rzeczpospolita, p. B3) P.W.