Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Petur Dimitrov has met with the management and trade unions of Stara Zagora and Plovdiv-based arms of state tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac Holding on February 15 2008 to discuss possible scenarios for their future.

One alternative, presented by the minister, envisages the shutdown of both plants. Then they would be subject to privatisation within three months, together with their general cigarette production licence. The plants, however, would be precluded from producing proprietary Bulgartabac brands.

Workers would get a severance package equaling one gross salary for each year with the factory, up to a maximum of 20 gross salaries.

Under the second scenario, Bulgartabac would dispose of all four of its cigarette factories alongside the cigarette production licences and proprietorship over Bulgartabac-owned cigarette brands. Such a sale, however, would take nine months to prepare. Workers, once again, would be offered severance packages.

The third scenario envisages privatisation through the stock exchange, because that would ensure maximum transparency and the highest price for Bulgartabac assets.

Meanwhile, Dnevnik daily reported that Plovdiv mayor Slavcho Atanassov offered to take over the cigarette factory in the city. He plans to ask the Cabinet to transfer an 80 per cent stake in the plant to  the city hall, according to a BTA report. Dimitrov declined to comment on the proposal, according to the report.

Vladimir Vutev, a member of the Slunce Stara Zagora-Tabak trade union, part of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), was quoted by Focus news agency as saying that none of the proposals suited the trade unions. The trade unions wanted a fast-track sale of the factory.

Trade union officials and workers from the factories have already announced plans to stage protests outside the headquarters of Bulgartabac Holding and the Ministry of Economy and Energy.

On Wednesday, February 13, the management of Bulgartabac Holding decided that the factories in Plovdiv and Stara Zagora would retain their cigarette production licence, but would be banned from producing proprietary Bulgartabac brands, as a first step towards their sale.

Hristo Lachev, CEO of Bulgartabac Holding, was quoted by Dnevnik daily as saying that the downsizing of production units was imperative to keep the bottom line of the company in the black. Lachev is also reported to have attended the meetings in Stara Zagora and Plovdiv, alongside the head of the holding's board of directors, Kornelia Ninova.