Smelter workshop workers of PC "Zaporozhye Ferroalloy Plant" wrote open letters to the President and the People's Deputies of Ukraine, where they asked to intervene into the situation with the size of tariff for ferroalloy plants.

As the authors of the letters  reported to UNIAN, these appeals were sent to the senior officials after ZFP employees’ visiting a number of central executive bodies responsible for carrying out the energy policy of the state.

ZFP employees ask senior government officials "to assist in setting fair electricity rates, not higher than those of competitors, namely 0.32 UAH per kilowatt, which corresponds to the status of the largest energy-consuming enterprises."

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"We urge you to intervene to solve this problem, as well as to increase the responsibility of officials for the proper performance of their duties for the benefit of Ukraine", - stated in the letter.

In this regard, ZFP employees note that on June 8, they wanted to meet with the leaders or representatives of the Ministry of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine in order to "inform on the implementation of decisions taken at the mass meeting on May 31 on the implementation of measures for the resumption of production of ferroalloy plants in time and with the results, which will allow us to preserve working places". Moreover, according to authors of the letter, they informed in advance about their visit and desire to meet. At the same time, according to ZFP employees, they "were heard with frank indifference, with a clear desire to hush up, wipe the solution of problems by common phrases and in no way binding excuses, empty promises without concrete measures and at least rough terms". "We did not even see a desire and did not receive any satisfactory answer to the fulfillment of the requirements adopted at the mass meeting on May 31", - stated in the letter.

 

According to the authors of the letter, it once again confirms the fact that the "officials are irresponsible to perform their work, what results in thousands of people may be left without work and without means for living".

The letters’ authors also notes that such irresponsible behavior can lead to cessation of enterprise with a worldwide reputation and unique technologies, reduction of more than 2,000 people, reducing by one-third of wages and the growth of social tensions in the region; the state losses only for 6 months of this year for unsold electricity make the amount of 286 million UAH, and till the rest of the year, the loses can be made more than 500 million UAH, budget and social funds losses the sum of more than 85 million UAH per a year.

ZFP employees express their confidence that "the solution is here - in Kiev." "We are also convinced that the establishment of fair working conditions for domestic producers should be a priority in the work of state power" – admitted in the letter. 

As UNIAN reported earlier, in Zaporozhye on May 31 protest rally of many thousands of metallurgists and workers of mining industry in the region took place. They oppose large-scale layoffs in enterprises, the main cause of which is an increase in electricity prices for large industrial enterprises, so that work of MPC becomes unprofitable.

According to representatives of trade union, acting on a protest, "mining and metallurgical complex, with all its potential, is bulging at the seams."

"For 10 years, in Zaporozhye region about 18 thousand workers were reduced, while 7000 workers were cut in the last two years," - says the chairman of Zaporozhye regional committee of the trade union of metallurgists and miners of Ukraine Valeriy Kozub. The cause of the dramatic complications of the economic situation of mining companies is the rising cost of electricity, which occurred as a result of tariff increasing and the transfer of enterprises into the 2nd class of power consumption. According to Mr. Kozub, the consequences of stopping enterprises, a sharp decline in the employment potential and its release to the shadow economy will be disastrous for Zaporozhye region, as in MPC of Zaporozhye region more than 60 thousand people are working, which are responsible for the standard of living of their families - over 200 thousand  people.