The president of the management board of Croatia's Uljanik shipyard, Gianni Rossanda, resigned on August 28, a week after workers went on strike requesting payment of delayed salaries as well as a management change.

4,500 workers staged a strike over the late payments, gathered in front of the dock entrance, on August 22. About a thousand of them arrived in Zagreb on August 27 to demand a solution from the government. However, even though they were received by top officials including Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, they left the government headquarters without any money only a promise it would come by the end of the month. Workers are committed to keep striking until they receive their salaries.

Rossanda previously spoke of his resignation plans as the strike escalated. However in his resignation letter distributed to Croatian media, he claims that he was waiting because he didn’t want to block the system.

“Although I have publicly announced in the last few weeks my resignation from Uljanik, where I have worked from my student days, at the same time as the new supervisory board and the new managment are elected, I did not want to block the functioning of this complex system from which all workers rightfully expect a solution to the current problem as well as a long-term solution for all shipyard issues,” Rossanda said in his letter published by Croatia’s public broadcaster HRT.

“During the past years, months and weeks, I worked days and nights with all ministries, trade unions, shipowners and business partners, and especially in the preparation of the restructuring programme, and I have personally become a means of diverting attention from the important problems of the shipyards in Pula [where Uljanik is located] and Rijeka.” 

On August 28, Uljanik confirmed that Rossanda is leaving the post in a press release posted on the website of the Zagreb Stock Exchange. The company said that he is handing over his mandate to the supervisory board.

Rossanda said in his letter that by giving his mandate to the supervisory board, all directors and managers also hand over their mandates to the supervisory board.

On August 28, Uljanik also announced that it has appointed Robert Banko, employed as financial manager, as its representative on the supervisory board for a period of four years starting from August 29.

The chair of the supervisory board Renata Kasnjar-Putar stepped down on August 24 saying that possible solutions to the current situation at Uljanik are now not in the remit of the supervisory board, and because the workers have demanded greater representation in the shipyard's management bodies, regional broadcaster N1 reported.

The Pula-based shipyard — Croatia’s largest — was reported earlier this year to be in crisis. In January, the European Commission cleared Zagreb’s plans to grant the shipyard a state guarantee for a €96mn loan, allowing Uljanik to meet its urgent liquidity needs while preparing a restructuring plan. This prevented the shipyard going out of business immediately, the EC said at the time. 

Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts Darko said after the meeting between workers’ representatives and government officials on August 27 that funds to pay July and August salaries could be secured by the end of the week, Reuters reported.

“After that we’ll focus on restructuring as this is the last chance to help Uljanik become sustainable,” Horvat told reporters at the time.

According to Reuters, workers control less than 50% of the company, with the state also being a minority shareholder. Other owners include several local banks and the country’s top insurer, Croatia Osiguranje.