Employees of the Polotsk Winery are ready to be offered new jobs in case the enterprise closes

Employees of the Polotsk Winery, in case of the enterprise's closure, will be offered new jobs by the employment service, reported Yevgeny Trukhanov, Deputy Head of the Department for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Polotsk District Executive Committee.

During the BELTA "Your Question to the President" campaign, employees of the bankrupt enterprise appealed with a request to preserve production and jobs. According to them, the plant is currently operating profitably, and wages are paid on time. In their collective letter, people noted that in the event of the enterprise's closure, it would be difficult to find work in Polotsk, especially for those aged 45 and older, and this group constitutes the majority at the plant. The Department for Labor, Employment and Social Protection of the Polotsk District Executive Committee stated that they are aware of the situation. If the plant closes and people are left without work, they are ready to employ all employees (76 people).

"We periodically hold thematic job fairs at the plant, but, of course, people want to stay at their enterprise. Nevertheless, in case of its closure, if we cannot find work for everyone in their specialty, we will offer employees employment in related fields, as well as free retraining in 23 specialties of their choice. In addition, the unemployed are given the opportunity to receive state subsidies for organizing their own business," noted Yevgeny Trukhanov. He added that as of March 1, there were 260 people registered with the employment service, with 992 vacancies (542 of which were for blue-collar jobs). Among the district's employers, the most in-demand professions are salespersons, drivers, engineers of various specializations, and doctors.

"In the region, the unemployment rate has been declining since the beginning of last year and currently stands at 0.6%. The Polotsk district has been removed from the list of regions with labor market tensions. This year, we plan to employ over 600 people in new jobs," added the Deputy Head of the Department. In 2018, 612 new jobs were created in the Polotsk district. The largest number were created at GREENretail LLC (148), KimaBel LLC (69), and at the Novopolotsk Technological Plant.

metal structures (69). The Polotsk Winery was established in 1929.

The enterprise specializes in the production of fruit and berry wines. The economic insolvency (bankruptcy) proceedings were initiated in May 2016 at the initiative of the debtor itself. In June 2017, the enterprise was declared bankrupt (the amount of accumulated debts was 1.6 times higher than the value of its assets), and liquidation proceedings were opened for a period of one year, which was extended by 6 months in June 2018.

In January of this year, the Vitebsk Regional Economic Court extended the liquidation period of the bankrupt plant by another 6 months – until June 28. In May 2017, a criminal case on corruption was initiated, involving three employees of the plant (former director, his deputy for commercial affairs, chief accountant), as well as an individual entrepreneur from Minsk. The accused received sentences ranging from three years of restriction of liberty to seven years of enhanced regime colony. Facts of unjustified intermediation in equipment procurement, embezzlement through abuse of official powers, attempted misappropriation of enterprise funds, and tax evasion negatively affected the financial condition of the plant. On the eve of the "Big Conversation with the President" on February 27-28, the BELTA news agency held an event "Your question to the President," during which readers were invited to share their concerns and problems. A total of about 2,000 questions were received.

BELTA.