Alexander Tomov has been replaced as chief executive of Bulgaria's Kremikovtzi steelworks as of February 4, but will remain on its board of directors, Dnevnik daily said.
Tomov was "released" from the job by Kremikovtzi's supervisory board, which held an emergency meeting on February 4, but will stay on Kremikovtzi's managing board, he confirmed in an interview with state television BNT.
Tomov will be replaced by Indian Guntupalli Jagannadham, who was previously the managing director of at GIKIL coke maker, majority-owned by Pramod Mittal's Global Infrastructure Holding Ltd, in Bosnia.
Jagannadham's appointment needs to be confirmed by Kremikovtzi's supervisory board, but there has been no supervisory board meeting scheduled, Dnevnik daily said.
In the meantime, the steel mill's workers once again went on protest on February 5, Focus news agency said. The trade unions are demanding guarantees that the steelworks will not be shut down and dismantled.
Delayed wages have been paid out to most of Kremikovtzi's employees, with the rest were expected to receive theirs by the end of the day, according to Vassil Yanachkov, chairman of the Metalitsi trade union, affiliated to the influential Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB), as quoted by Focus news agency. Food stamps for November and December 2007 are also expected to be paid on the same day.
Additionally, the trade unions are scheduled to begin talks on a 25 per cent salary increase for Kremikovtzi's employees.
Yanachkov also said the trade unions wanted to meet Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov, demanding that the city hall commit itself to Kremikovtzi's development and modernisation, as well as bringing it in line with environmental requirements. Borissov has long advocated Kremikovtzi's complete shutdown and the re-development of the land on which it is located.
Kremikovtzi's future stirred a lot of controversy in January 2008, starting from the lack of clarity whether the plant would be sold and to whom, a number of protests by Kremikovtzi workers demanding payment of unpaid wages and Kremikovtzi directors reportedly resigning en masse.
