SHOPPING
MALL IN MITROVICA
(Hysni
Recica)
Nexhmedin Aliu: We do not think
there will be many changes, except that the company will be better managed and
more profitable.
Nexhmedin Aliu, one of the 25 new shareholders of the
Mitrovica Shopping Mall Lux that was up for sale in the second round of
privatization.
Hello and welcome to UNMIK on air with Sputnik Kilambi and
Martin Redi
The 25 managed to put together the tidy sum of 2. 025 000
Euros in order to successfully bid for a company most of them had worked in for
decades. Nexhmedin, for example, has
been working in the Lux shopping mall since 1979.
One opportunity afforded by the whole process of
privatization is that workers can also bid for ownership of their former workplaces
– a pleasant surprise from the just completed second round of privatization is
that two of the 18 Socially Owned Enterprises, SOEs, were bought by workers:
the styrofoam producing plant in Hani I Elezit and the Shopping Mall “Lux” in
Mitrovica.
The fear of losing one’s job is a key reason pushing workers
to explore all the possibilities to keep the ownership of their company in
their hands, otherwise they would have to settle for 20 % of the sum the
company is sold for.
The atmosphere is relaxed at the Lux shopping mall – former
employees turned owners/shareholders chuffed at the success of their bid.
Bahtir Pllana, Nexhmedin Aliu, Skender Begu, Shukriu and Sefedin Syla are
amongst the 25 shareholders who ought the company - all appear relieved and
full of high hopes. Shukri explains.
Shukriu: We were afraid that if we lost the bid, we would have to
leave the place. Now we are no longer afraid that we will have to go and remain
jobless.
The fear has slowly given way to hope and optimism
amongst the former workers at Lux. There is growing interest among locals and
internationals in buying the companies up for sale. You cannot help being happy
to win the tender in this highly competitive process, says Bahtir.
Bahtir: We are happy, the competition was fierce, there
were some 13 bidders, but we gave our maximum to keep and privatize our
company. We did not do this to make a profit but to secure a living for
ourselves and for our families.
Bahtir says that workers themselves set up most of these
enterprises, and that it is only fair they remain in their hands. Asked if he
is concerned that too many cooks might spoil the broth, he replies that this
too has been resolved.
Bahtir: The profit
and the expenses will be shared amongst the shareholders. This shareholding
company will function like other companies anywhere inn the world and we will
try to set up a good example.
We think it is the same, whether it’s one shareholder or 25,
the function will be the same. The only difference is that a board will be set
up from the 25, which will then appoint a professional council, not made up of
shareholders but of professional people who will manage the company.
Everybody is relieved that the company hasn’t changed
hands stress Sefedin and Shukriu. If a stranger bought it, they say, things
would be different.
Sefedin: It is not only us who will
benefit, the whole town will. All the citizens of Mitrovica, there are over 200
people working in the shopping mall. If somebody else had bought the company,
they would have brought in new workers. It’s for this reason I say the whole
town has benefited.
Shukri: We can keep as many workers as we
need the majority of the current workforce will remain, we will not hire new
ones.
We might want to employ our fathers or brothers, but we are
not going to do that, we will keep the workers already here.
But all this didn’t seem that obvious or feasible a few
months ago. Initially, Lux workers were racked with doubts whether they would
ever make it. Skender Begu was the key
player in convincing the others they could do it. So what message does he have
for workers in other companies?
Skender: I think the workers in other enterprises should
persevere and have the courage to apply to bid for their companies. They should
have faith in their own abilities. Like we did. I think that the workers are
the ones who know what their company is worth and not the ones who simply want
to make quick profits.
Maybe the Lux shopping mall might serve as an example
for workers in other companies up for sale. Many more SOEs will be up for
privatization in the coming months in such diverse sectors as construction,
manufacturing, bottling, agriculture, and hotels. For more information consult the KTA web site – time for us to
sign off here on UNMIK ON AIR. Thanks for listening.