ZAGREB, February 9, 2018 - The INA oil company and trade unions have discussed the planned shutdown of the fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) and hydrodesulfurization (HDS) units at the Sisak oil refinery, INA said in a statement on Friday.
The plan is to optimise the refining business and reduce losses. The trade unions are against it and demand additional arrangements to preserve jobs.
The meeting took place on Thursday at the request of the three unions operating in the refinery. The management was represented by INA CEO Zoltan Aldott.
They discussed organisational changes which INA had announced last month. The changes include the cessation of the operation of the FCC plant and the HDS unit for FCC gasoline processing on July 1 and consequently the dismissal of up to 40 workers.
The trade unions said they saw the meeting as the first step in preserving jobs at Sisak. They said they were told by the management that the closure of the FCC plant at this point did not mean the closure of the refinery, but better use of the refinery's capacity to better meet market requirements.
The unions demand that the management keep the workers informed of any further steps.