Thaci: KEK workers warn halting production, discontent with wage Law

KEK Manager Njazi Thaci says the wage law adopted in the Kosovo Assembly hurts KEK workers. According to him, various statements have been in the Parliament with what is written in the law.

The Law of Current Salaries, which was adopted in the Assembly, actually harms KEK workers more than it did without the law written on paper. Something else is spoken in the land, and something else is written in the Law. None of the MPs or parliamentarians who discussed or saw the most difficult we have from KEK management has been contacted. Since I have information neither the union has ever been contacted before”, Thaci said.

Against these frustrations, Thaci claims that workers have warned even strikes until the end of production. According to him, they should not be compared to civil servants, since their work is extremely difficult.

I don't believe KEK's workers should be compared to civilian servants, they're not civil servants they have a hard job, they work with shifts under heavy conditions. Seeing that the energy market is developing, or getting new companies into the market in the future will be very difficult with the current law making us keep Quadrots or experts at work. We have warnings from the union that if the law goes into effect they have protests to stop the production, government institutions have also been announced as well, KEK Country Manager for Online Economy stated.

Despite these challenges Thaci says to have the workers of this corporation, he claims for the first time no Kosovo B bloc has been declining, which he has done to spend a winter without difficulties.

“Historically, it has never happened to this day in KEK that a bloc of Kosovo B, such as the B2 bloc, has no halt since September 24th last year, so since this date there is no decline in this”.

The B1 Kosovo B1 bloc B as of December 13 does not fall back to any decline, and we have spent a winter without difficulties. That means KEK has spent a year of success and with an extremely good performance of”, Thaci suggested.

Operational spending is down by 9 percent. Even profits have increased by over 2 percent, according to Thaci.

We have managed to cut operational spending to 9%, we have managed to make investments in capital spending from 10 million to 52 million. We've passed the production plan according to energy balance over 8%. We've managed to raise 2% over last year”

Until April 15th, we have this plan that we have, two blocks in Kosovo A and two in Kosovo B, conform energy balances. On December 15th, we have Kosovo's B2 bloc B because it goes to the previous annual referendum for 4 months”, Thaci said.

Solar energy will be the focus of KEK's management. Currently, according to Thaci, procurement procedures have been opened for the selection of contracting for the feasibility study of this energy, where it will initially be produced in 80 hectares.

We've actually opened the procurement procedures for selecting the contractor for the feasibility study of its production. It is seen that in the ash hills, as we say to the mine where the coal was issued, there are initially 80 hectares to start with producing this energy for reasons that KEK is public enterprise, infrastructure is the best in Kosovo”, Thaci said.

Another environmental measurement project is the change of filters, which is a European Union grant, while the technical part will meet KEK.

The “is a grant from the EU to filters and parts of carbon denounced, while technical parts will be invested by KEK so that the time of halting blocks can be exploited so that at that time we can do technical work in order to increase Kosovo's life expectancy B life expectancy for the next 25 years, Thaci said.

Thaci has announced that the New Mine owes KEK to invest 250-300m euros. For that value, he said he would hardly be able to afford KEK. According to him, if it doesn't help Government or Regulatory Office, the price of electricity for the loss can be increased.

The new “Minier begins this year the first phase, which starts with 50m-60m euros starting with the purchase of new drivers, and in the next five years KEK is obliged to invest 250m to 300m euros. Because this mine will supply existing thermal power plants, but also the Kosova e Re” thermal power plant.

“All this investment KEK has seen to make even impossible by KEK's means, or the current electricity price we have today, so KEK has applied the Government and the regulator's office or to help us finance the projects or enable the price of electricity to increase for the share of losses, at which cost we would be able to cover all these investments, otherwise we have the impossible to implement these projects”

“I don't believe there will be a price hike because KEK has asked only for the loss part, the share of the universal service which is for the housekeeping we've asked to remain vulnerable and we take that obligation”, Thaci said.

KEK Manager Nyazi Thaci also indicated that the development of the green wall would be in the works. According to him, trees will be planted from the Kosovo A thermal power plant to the mining area.