PGNiG unions say company needs government help, threaten general strike

Trade unions at the national gas monopoly Polish Gas and Oil Exploration (PGNiG) are threatening a general strike if the government does not raise natural gas prices and boost PGNiG's capital. They also claim that the company is zl.6 billion in debt and has stopped repaying its obligations, even to its main supplier Gazprom. However, Valery Stanislavovich, president of Gazprom Export, would not confirm these revelations. Dariusz Matuszewski, head of the federation of trade unions at PGNiG, says that as a result of the debts, creditor banks or Gazprom can file for receivership of the gas company. The unions are also protesting a management plan to spin off four subsidiaries out of the company. Matuszewski said that PGNiG cannot afford such a procedure and that the subsidiaries would not be able to keep pace with market competition once Poland joins the EU. (Puls Biznesu, p.10)