News

PRESS RELEASE: THURSDAY, APRIL 28, 2005

ZANON WORKERS

The public notices were published and five days have passed: the deadline for the cram-down has passed and no investors have registered. Nobody applied to "buy" Zanon.

ENOUGH DELAYS AND PLOYS FOR THE RECOGNITION OF THE WORKERS' ADMINISTRATION AND THE FASINPAT COOPERATIVE

Yesterday, Wednesday April 27th, the deadline passed for a vulture fund or the previous owner who drained the company of its assets to try to buy Zanon Ceramics for mere pennies. If this ploy had been successful (the cram-down procedure), more than 470 jobs and the workers' administration of Zanon would have been in danger: a new owner would have immediately requested the eviction of the factory.

But, as no "interested parties" registered, the judge has to close the registry and it cannot be re-opened. The judge had already declared in his February 8th decision: "The registry will be open for a fixed period of five days, the completion of which will preclude further registration." The five days for which the registry was open began when the last public notice was published in national and regional newspapers. The notices were published and five days passed: the deadline has passed and noone has registered. Nobody applied to "buy" Zanon.

What next?

The judge must now declare the factory bankrupt and recognize the workers' administration via the FaSinPat cooperative (article 48 and related sections of the bankruptcy law). This is not a permanent solution but it staves off those with dubious interests who would try to take over Zanon and pave the way for its eviction.

The workers of Zanon, together with the Multisectoral, workers' organizations in struggle, human rights organizations, student groups, etc., call a press conference tomorrow Friday at 10am in the Castro Rendón hospital.