News

Not long ago, a statement of Dimitar Manolov – President of Confederation of Labour Podkrepa, was distributed in the public domain in relation to the process of retirement of workers and employees of State Enterprise Radioactive Waste. The document includes facts, classifications and interpretations which could mislead public opinion and judgment of the situation. In this regard, the SERAW Management wants to clarify the following:
In pursuance of Grant Agreement No. 048 of 13 January 2014, concluded between the Ministry of Economy and Energy, SERAW and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) for the implementation of the Decommissioning programme, the number of personnel involved in the decommissioning process shall be in compliance with the parameters of Annex No.9 of the Grant Agreement. According to the document SERAW is to reduce the operational personnel and to increase the personnel related to the decommissioning works. These targets can be accomplished either by pre-qualifying SERAW employees and workers for new positions, or by employing new personnel suitable for the decommissioning activities.
The personnel involved in Specialised Division Decommissioning – Units 1-4
(SD Decommissioning Units 1-4) to its most part had not been selected and employed by SERAW, but transferred from Kozloduy NPP by decrees of Council of Ministers under Art.123 of the Labour Code and these are specialists involved in their occupational careers mainly in the operational activities and not in the decommissioning of nuclear power units. Moreover, during the last personnel transfer under the order described above on 01 March 2013, it became clear that many of the people are of retirement age or close thereto.
At the end of the 2015, SERAW terminated the employment with approximately 30 people, mostly SD Decommissioning Units 1-4 employees who are of retirement age or are not suitable for activities related to the decommissioning of the shutdown units. Due to production necessity some of them were re-assigned to positions for which they will be pre-qualified and will be in compliance with the establishment plan’s requirements according to the agreement with EBRD. The employees with terminated employment due to acquired pension rights were compensated in accordance with Art. 222, para. 3 of the Labour Code. In due time before the termination of the employment with workers of retirement age, the SERAW management informs the labour organisations’ representatives about the upcoming exercise of the Employer’s right to unilaterally terminate the employment of those of retirement age. Up to this moment the representatives of the labour organisations in  SERAW have not expressed any negative considerations regarding these acts.
Throughout 2015, the  employees from the two SERAW specialised divisions on the Nuclear Power Plant site, who have been released due to reaching retirement age, number 63 in total. The number of new employment is 71, 17 of them being under the age of 30.
Currently the total number of employed people in the four specialised divisions of SERAW and the Main Office is 1010.