The Primorje construction company went bankrupt in 2012. At that time around 652 of its employees filed for claims amounting to 20,2 million euros. 16,6 million euros from that amount were given the status of priority claims. The head of the Primorje trade union, Damjan Volf, says the figure was lowered to a little over 16 million euros due to withdrawals and pay-offs during the bankruptcy proceedings.

The first priority payments, worth 2,5 million euros, happened in February 2014. The second payments, worth 6,5 million euros, followed in June 2014. The third took place in February this year, when around 3,8 million euros were spent. During each distribution a part of the amount intended for priority claims was set aside for ongoing procedures regarding claim disputes. The Primorje trade union expects repayments for those employees with normal claims as well, which amount to around 3,6 million euros i.e. 26 percent of all the approved claims. The union also wants the biggest shares in the division of the bankruptcy estate, which would otherwise go to the former management, to be divided among the rest of the workers. Furthermore the union warns of the long-lasting procedure. The payments of priority claims with a relatively 'rich' company estate have been taking place for a year and a half now, and to the disadvantage of those employees in Primorje's sister companies, where there is practically no bankruptcy estate.

G. C.; translated by K. J.