Fight (survival) with the front Metropolitan Dorotheos B’

Battle to keep in life and avoid the (visible) lock, which will send hundreds of workers into unemployment and drive, according to local agencies, Syros in economic withering, gives Neorio, the most important……. island's lung lung. The Cyclades Shipyard Symbol, as it is one step before closing.

 

Property struggles with nails and teeth to carry boats for repairs, Employees' calm stocks, to whom management owes five salaries, they have long been sold out, the company's debts to IKA and PPC are "running" and the inhabitants of the island fear that, if Neorio rolls down, Syros will sink.

The annual turnover of the shipyard, from 30.000.000 euro before the crisis, the last four years are barely enough 10.000.000 euro, shipowners choose cheaper solutions abroad (Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania) and no one is able to make safe forecasts for the future of the company. The season of fat cows (1994-2008) the yard regularly employed more than 600 individuals. With hiring frozen, today they are left 300 permanent employees.

"They crushed us"

"At the moment we owe five monthly wages to the workers. As a private company we operate in free competition and give, literally, battle in the international market to be able to stand and survive" says the president of the shipyard Konstantinos Kokkalas to the "Sunday Democracy". As he himself notes, The crisis in Greece in conjunction with the decline in the shipbuilding industry and the cheap prices offered by the competition from neighboring countries… they crushed the Neorio.

In this adverse environment, in September 2010 the management of the shipyard, unable to pay wages and with the consent of the workers, adopted a new payment model, which is still valid today, in order not to close the business. The employees are paid according to the receipts from the projects undertaken by the yard, not counting money for bills (PPC, EYDAP) and insurance contributions.

"What we are claiming is to have equal treatment with the other shipyards that receive project assignments from the state. All things cannot be gathered in Attica and Syros become an island. A long time ago we started a huge fight and we finally succeeded, after three years, To undertake the repair of two Navy floating tanks. ". Bone.

Huge help
The Metropolitan of Syros Dorotheos II is at the forefront of the struggle that management and workers are putting together to get the shipyard back on its feet., who, with his personal pressures towards the Ministry of National Defense and the General Staff of the Navy, put his own stone in the commission of the repair of two floating tanks of the Navy in Neorio. "The metropolitan's help was enormous.

His Holiness gave everything to get the project and the advance, without which at this moment we simply would not exist" adds Mr. Bone.

This particular project, total value 10.000.000 euro, it was for the "kiss of life" business as, after many years, "hot" money would enter the shipyard's coffers. By repairing the first tank the company would pay it off 50% of its debts to the employees and with the completion of the repair of the second tank the remaining debts. When staff and owners saw the first tank mooring at Neorio in the early hours of January 26th, they took a deep breath, but then their expectations were dashed!

"The law was changed and by order of the Ministry of Finance they were detained 750.000 euros for taxes before the project is completed. We calculated that we would give this money to the workers as we had promised, but that didn't happen. A large part of the money was withheld for debts to the IKA and so on, from 5.000.000 of the first tank, we collected 3.200.000 euros" clarifies Mr. Bone.

 

This development brought new unrest among the workers, of which Mr. Kokkalas asks for an extension of their patience and tolerance, and sends a message of optimism that recovery will soon come. "The problems were not solved, but the shipyard exists and works" concludes the president of Neorio.

Employees: "We are trying without help from the state"
The water cannon, the machine that launches water with water in the vessels of ships, uploads turns. 'After taking the vapor his place in the floating tank, The first job we do is to clean rust and then paint it so that it can be maintained, ”explains K.. Nikos, working in Neorio the last 12 years.

"Sunday democracy" was found in the heart of the shipyard, where day and night and regardless of the weather conditions, the workers struggle to deliver on time the ships that have been given for repair.

 

This is a microcosm made up of flames -guitters, tube, rollingpers, carpenter, boilers, compliment, maneuver, scaffolding and lifting machinery operators.

The latest developments have influenced everyone, but, As the 40 -year -old Manolis Motos points out, president of the factory workers' union in Neorio, "despite the difficulties, we are responsible in our work and we try to stand on our feet with zero help from the state".

The employees' anxiety about the fate of the company is painted on their faces. "If Neorio closes, Syria will be destroyed. The shipyard is the economic lung of the island and must remain alive" says 55-year-old Dimitris Vogiatzis, father of three children and grandfather of four grandchildren, who works in the yard by the 1985 And today he is in charge of maintenance.

'There is a great deal of crisis in domestic repairs, Because wages in other countries, as in Turkey, they are very low. The workers do great patience to overcome the problems, ”he adds.

'I belong to the extraordinary staff, I work when he has a job and, unfortunately, I don't have any other income. It will be great damage if the yard closes for me and for the whole island, Why money is a chain. If I have I, the grocer and the kiosk will also get it," says 32-year-old Lavrentis Salachas.

 

The construction crisis forced Lavrentis to look for another solution so that he could support his wife and 15 months old daughter. Now, as he describes himself, "we do what,what can we do better to improve our competitiveness so that the yard can withstand the crisis".

"If it ever closes, will sink the island"

Constant vigilance and coordinated action of all the agencies of the island with the aim of supporting the shipyard and expanding the turnover of the business is requested by Metropolitan of Syros Dorotheos B’. "Any suspension of Neorio's operation would lead Syros to economic and social suffocation, With incalculable consequences, given the ongoing unfavorable economic situation" states the metropolitan in "Sunday Democracy", addressing, in parallel, appeal to the Greek shipowners to help the shipyard in every way so that it can get back on its feet.

 

As the metropolitan points out, 'Neorio is a lung of Syros economic life, as, Beyond the jobs it offers, It also contributes to the development of the local market, with material supplies. It is the heart of Syros, that we have a duty to keep it alive".

The Metropolitan's intervention to assign the repair of the two Navy's two floating tanks in Neorio was catalytic, But the battle doesn't stop there. "We are constantly supporting the fight to ensure the viability of the shipyard, closely monitoring the developments and intervening, to the best of our ability, so as to prevent any unfavorable development" emphasizes Metropolitan Dorotheos and concludes: "We believe that with the hard work of its staff and the interest of its management, Neorio has all the guarantees for an efficient and creative future ».

And the Catholic bishop

The Catholic Bishop of Syros is also in the open line with the metropolis, Thira and Crete Frangiskos Papamanolis, who stands by the workers and the management. "We cannot do without Neorio and a possible closure would be disastrous for our island. Unemployment is already a scourge and what the State should understand is that the shipyard is the economic lung of Syros" is the message of the Catholic bishop.

Vice -governor: 'There are solutions with a future)»

Strategic planning, will include the utilization of the staff and equipment available to Neorio in other fields, such as in renewable energy sources or in the case of the return of seaplanes, is drawn by the South Aegean Region.

 

As declared in "Sunday democracy" the deputy governor of Cyclades Giorgos Poussios (photo), "we must recognize Neorio as a special case and through the cooperation of all agencies ensure its sustainability, as it is the most vital unit in the whole Aegean. "

 

According to K. Whose, the idea of ​​the shipyard building a vessel to collect garbage from the Aegean islands has also fallen on the discussion table. "There are solutions, if we manage to serve the good concept of development" adds Mr. Poussios.

153 years filled with hundreds of ships and cars
Neorio was founded in 1861 in Syros and was essentially the first heavy manufacturing industry in Greece. Located on the west side of the port of Ermoupolis and features length pier 1,8 kilometers, served by cranes of 40, 25 and 20 tons.

 

The modern history of the shipyard begins in 1969, when the Giannis brothers bought it, Alexandros and Leonidas Goulandris, who implemented an ambitious investment program to modernize the facilities, with the creation of floating tanks and new machine shops. Shipyard has experienced great glory in the 1970s. His reputation quickly surpassed Greece's geographical boundaries, acquiring a great name in the international storm.
 

The 1972 the Goulandris brothers bought Enfield Automotive Ltd, company that manufactured electric cars in the United Kingdom, and moved the production line to Neorio, Opening a new chapter for the shipyard in the field of automotive. A year after, Shipyards presented E 8000 ΒICI, jeep, that operated with batteries.

 

They were built in Neorio 140 Pieces, which were sold abroad. The yard's brief transition from car manufacturing was completed in 1976, with the creation of Neorion Chicago 4×4 (luxury limousine with retro aesthetics and aluminum chassis).

The 1979 the Goulandris brothers left the business, which then passed into the control of state banks as the 1992, so the then government decided to put a padlock on. From 1994 To this day, Syros Shipbuilding and Industrial Enterprises SA has been operating the operation of the shipyard.