The Minister of Economy, Andjelka Atanaskovic, stated today that the new plant of the Jumko factory in the village of Barbutovac near Blace will be opened in two months.
Atanaskovic said that 75 people will work in that plant, mostly women.
“A week ago, we were in Blace, in the village of Barbatovac, where we prepared a building from bankruptcy that we will fix and it will be in two months. 75 people will be employed there, mostly women from that place and the surrounding area, which means a lot to the village because it will have a secured income of 320 euros per month,” said Atanaskovic.
She points out that the most important thing is that people from smaller places stay in their village, with their children and family.
Speaking about the workers who lost their jobs after the closure of the Geox factory in Vranje, Atanaskovic reminded that all 1,227 workers received one average salary from the state, while between 500 and 700 workers will start working in the Turkish company Teklas.
When asked what will happen to other workers, Atanaskovic said that State Secretary Dragan Stevanovic is talking to businessmen in Vranje who are interested in hiring some workers, and at the same time, she added, the state is talking to some foreign companies.
“I would not talk about it now, until there is something concrete. Basically, the issue of all of them will be resolved and they will not stay on the street,” Atanskovic underlined.
Asked to comment on the claims of domestic investors that the state helps foreign investors more than domestic ones, Atanaskovic answered that everyone has the same opportunities equally. She added that out of the total number of investments helped by the state, one third belongs to domestic and two thirds to foreign ones.
The Minister explained that some of the conditions for receiving assistance are the size of the investment, the amount of salary, the number of workers who will be employed, and in that case, she adds, mostly foreign investors are in the lead.
“We have such large foreign companies that employ 3,000 workers each, which is something that brings new technology, knowledge and salaries to 3,000 families in Serbia, and their investments are 200 or 300 million euros each,” Atanaskovic said, B92 reports.
