PwC: privatization only profitable solution for coal mines

According to the coal-mining sector restructuring program proposed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) consultants, privatization of the industry is the only method that will render it profitable. PwC's proposal establishes three possible options, all aimed at reducing the sector's outdated mining infrastructure and getting rid of debt. According to the most radical scenario, which observers say would be ideal from an economic viewpoint, but could be hard to achieve given its impact on society, mining costs should be lowered to less than zl.100 per tonne, invariably translating into industry lay offs reaching up to 70,000. According to the program's authors, the sale of coal mines to strategic investors would be the best solution although public tenders would also be possible, albeit fare more risky. The program has already been passed to labor unions, which flatly reject it. (Rzeczpospolita, p.B2)