STATEMENT ON THE CURRENT SITUATION OF TASLUA CEMENT PLANT AND ITS EMPLOYEES

Tasluja Cement Plant is a KRG-owned cement plant, operated since 2008 through a lease

agreement by UCC (United Cement Company), a joint venture between Faruk Group and

LafargeHolcim Group.

 

The lease agreement between KRG and UCC expired on February 11th, 2017. There is no

official decision regarding the future of the plant announced by KRG yet.

 

The actions taken by the company management are as follows:

 

Since the lease agreement expired and UCC has no longer legal authority to operate

the plant, operations stopped and employees advised to stay at home except for

security and firefighting staff.

 

All employees, contractors and local community members have been transparently

informed by the company management regarding the process since the very

beginning through regular information sharing meetings.

 

The plant has 405 government employees and 96 additional employees hired by UCC

in the frame of the lease agreement. The situation is not affecting government

employees. They were in the plant before the lease agreement with UCC and will stay

in the future regardless of the identity of the new plant management.

 

UCC has been taking all legal and corporate actions in order to protect the labor

rights of the employees hired by UCC in the frame of the lease agreement.

 

The company (UCC) has offered a very fair "end of service" agreement to all

concerned employees that goes beyond its legal obligations. All employees are offered

a compensation package based on two salaries per each year of service. Considering

the current level of salaries and seniority level (years of service) of the concerned

employees, the compensation packages will have quite high figures.

 

In addition to that, if an employee cannot find a job until Dec 31st, 2017; then the

company will provide a second compensation package that is one salary per each year

of service.

 

Besides, it is almost certain that the plant will continue to operate in a different

management structure and a massive majority of these employees may continue to

work at the plant as before.

 

 

Respectfully notified to the public