Pekaes unions threaten strike and frontier blockade

Trade unions at Pekaes, Poland's leading freight carrier and forwarder, are threatening strike action and possible frontier blockades, in a protest against the planned consolidation of the group and the dismissal of one of its key executives. Last week Pekaes fired Marek Glogowski, the head of Pekaes Transport, accusing him of acting against the interests of the company. The trade unions dispute the charges against a man they consider to have achieved good results, and accuse the Pekaes management of pursuing policies that may lead to redundancies. For the first time in several years, Pekaes has reported a consolidated loss, largely as a result of a fall in revenues. Income was zl.321 million in the first half of 2001, down zl.50 million from the same period of 2000. According to a former member of the Pekaes management board, the group's total investment outlays in the first six months of this year amounted to zl.3.8 million, compared to a zl.60 million annual figure previously. (Puls Biznesu, p. 8) T.J.