Trouble in Žiežmariai flower paradise: employee has not received salary since summer, manager equates pandemic to nightmare | Deal

December 13th 15 minutes Regina K., who lives in Žiežmariai, asked the editorial office for help: “I want to inform you that Žiežmarių gėlės does not want to settle accounts with the employees. People quit their jobs due to constant wage delays. It is impossible to call, still promising to pay, but money is not like that, it is not. They are in debt for 4 months. “

Regina posted the same post on her personal Facebook account. After contacting 15 minutes The journalist told the journalist that she was working at Žiežmariai gėleė, where it was agreed to leave a minimum wage of 447 euros in her hands on October 26. He has worked for this company for 2.5 years. According to Regina, before the payment of salaries was delayed, but in the end everything went well.

The amount due to Regina is 1 777 EUR.

“I used to be 1-2 months late to pay the salary, but they received around 300 euros a month to pay. There was an uneven payment, in installments. I was happy because I work close to home, I don’t have to drive anywhere, working hours are good, I was already home at 5 pm, 8 am. This year, however, the payment of salaries began to be delayed more and more frequently.

I have barely received a salary for 4 months. August gave 200 euros for April, May. After that, he started paying just 100 euros each. Here, on September 11, he paid 100 euros on the card, after which everything was “in his hands.” For so many months, I have lived on an income of about 150 euros, ”Regina said, admitting that she speaks not only on her behalf, but also on behalf of other affected employees.

When Žiežmariškės left work, a summary of the unpaid salary was signed. Displays the outstanding amount of Regina at 1,877 EUR. The former employee received 100 euros from the employer a month ago. That was the last payment he received. Therefore, according to the interlocutor on December 13, “Žiežmarių gėlė” owes you 1,777 euros.

I no longer contacted the director

Regina got in touch with Violeta Junevičienė, director of Žiežmarių gėlių. He promised to pay the debt in installments. He allegedly told her to call her on Wednesday (Dec. 9 – Aut. Past) – maybe there will be money, but the principal did not answer the phone on the scheduled day. I also didn’t answer the phone on December 10th.

Regina wrote an Instagram message to Rasa Stoniene, the owner of the company, who was a follower of the latter, but blocked the former employee without writing anything to her. This reluctance to communicate surpassed the woman’s cup of patience, which is why Regina decided to go to the media.

“We trusted them. We did not expect such an act. We thought the money would definitely be paid, because all the employees are locals living in Žiežmariai, ”Regina said in frustration.

According to her, maybe 7 people left work, 4-5 of them have not received salary for a certain period of time. When asked how management justified unpaid wages, Regina testified that she had constantly heard of huge debts.

Rekvizitai.lt On December 14, the debt of Žiežmarių gėlių contracted by Sodra was indicated, which according to the data of December 8 amounted to 10,633.27 euros. On December 15, this record no longer exists.

“As far as I know, huge debts for electricity and gas. Even the gas heating has been disconnected since November. At that time the Christmas poinsettias were sold, and this year they are already discarded, there will be no more Christmas flowers. The temperature is not the correct one. The greenhouses are empty where flowers grew. It only has as many flowers as perennials that were left in the trading room before. There is no talk of bankruptcy. From what I have heard, I do not promise to publish, “said Regina.

When asked how the company operated during and after the first quarantine, the interviewee replied that it was boiling a lot of work.

“Few of us were working at the time, older workers who were at risk of inability to work. We work at full speed. The flowers were in bloom, the trade was good. We noticed that wages were delayed as many of the most beautiful flowers were planted. Much work has been done on it.

He planned to go to the Labor Disputes Commission, but still believed he would pay in good faith. He was promised that he would pay the debt every week. I agreed that at least 100 euros each, and now that he has disappeared … An employee, I know, submitted a request to the labor disputes commission, ”explained Regina.

The management was silent

December 14th 15 minutes neither the owner of “Žiežmarių gėlių” R.Stonienė nor the director V.Junevičienė was contacted. The latter’s phone number was off and R.Stonienė did not respond to messages either by phone or on social media. 15 minutes journalist in the company email. The request was sent three times by email, but the employee who answered the phone number of the company assured that the email letter did not arrive anyway. He offered to call the manager the next day.

The following day, a representative of Žiežmarių gėlių, answering the company’s general telephone number, reported that 15 minutes However, the journalist did receive the request and that the director knows her, but will only comment in a few days, on December 18, since she is currently in self-isolation.

On the same December 18, Regina, a former employee of Žiežmarių gėlių, informed the journalist that she had recovered the accumulated debt for unpaid wages: on Friday 1777 euros were transferred to a woman’s bank account. He assured that there are still former colleagues who have not received the money.

No income was generated due to the pandemic

On 18 December, as promised, V. Junevičienė, director of Žiežmarių gėlių, apologized for having to wait so long and sent a comment to the journalist about what was happening in the company. She openly acknowledged the debts incurred, the difficult situation of the pandemic.

According to V. Junevičienė, the main activity of the company Žiežmarių gėlė is the cultivation of flowers in pots in heated greenhouses. Although the flowers and ornamental plants are grown throughout the year, the activities of these companies, according to her, have been and will be seasonal.

Thousands of flowers had to be discarded.

“About 70 percent. The company’s costs (seeds, seedlings, heating, electricity, wages, fertilizers, etc.) fall in November-March, when trade is almost non-existent, and by 65%. company receives from spring trade in March-May. So, in the winter almost only expenses and income in the spring. Traditionally, in this scenario, everything also happened this year. The company bought seeds, seedlings, pots, fertilizers, heated greenhouses during the winter, paid wages, taxes, and grew flowers for the spring.

However, even before the start of the spring trade, the greenhouse flower trade was prohibited due to quarantine. Expenditures remained traditional at 70% and revenue at 65% instead of traditional. – 0. Thousands of flowers had to be thrown, ”said V. Junevičienė about the exceptional situation this year.

Finding a way out of the situation, according to the director of Žiežmarių gėlių, the company optimized costs, expanded its activities, processed cultivated products and reduced the range of cultivated products. An agreement was reached on back wages.

“We were forced to stay with the employees, we did not receive any support from the state. In June-July, fall flower chrysanthemums were planted to decorate the cemetery in the fall. Again, expenses on seeds, fertilizers, electricity, salaries, etc.

We plan to partially offset the losses from the trade in these flowers, but growing bountiful crops of chrysanthemum has been banned again since October due to the second wave of the virus. It is natural that I do not dream of such a difficult company in the worst of dreams ”, admitted the head of the company.

I will not dream of such a difficult time for the company, not even in the worst of dreams, admitted the director of the company.

But the company, he said, was certainly not going to fail. As mentioned above, it expanded its activities, increased the volume of the lyophilization workshop, abandoned part of the seasonal flowers and switched to food production. The structure of the company is also being restructured, costs are being optimized.

“We are seeking support to compensate for the damage caused by the Covid-19 virus. It is regrettable to be forced to explain to employees through public relations about unpaid wages on time. All the more so since the laid off workers have worked for the company for during many years Apparently there was a lack of mutual understanding.

The difficult situation aside, the company makes every effort to settle the accounts with the employees first. Regina has completely settled for the employee you mentioned. We also partially liquidate the remaining employees. In the future, we hope to be able to interest you not only in the problems, but also in the achievements of the company in the production of Lithuanian products, ”expected V. Junevičienė.

A fine was imposed twice

The journalist also sent a request to the State Labor Inspectorate (VDI) regarding the complaints received from the employees of Žiežmarių gėlių.

It turned out that in 2020, the SLI carried out two inspections in Žiežmariai gėle, during which violations due to illegal work and violations of labor law (in relation to the remuneration system) were identified. Administrative offenses and fines protocols were prepared for them.

In March and October 2020, protocols for administrative offenses were drawn up (separately for the company and the head of the company) for illegal work. The fine imposed on the company was 1,736 euros and the director of the company 1,100 euros.

In 2020, according to Jurgita Kažukauskaitė-Sarnickienė, the Commission on Labor Disputes (DGK), VDI’s communications advisor, received 5 requests to investigate labor disputes with “Žiežmarių gėlė” in relation to unpaid wages. 4 requests have already been processed, 1 is still being processed. 1 request was granted in favor of the employee, 3 plaintiffs withdrew their claims before the DGK meeting.

The fine imposed on the company was 1,736 euros and the director of the company 1,100 euros.

Labor disputes were resolved in October and November 2020.

There are 5 labor dispute commissions in Kaunas. In the first 9 months of this year, they received 1,283 applications for labor disputes. These requests contained more than 2,200 claims, of which 1,645 were for payment, 186 for illegal dismissal and 67 for contractual conditions.

898 requests were granted or partially fulfilled, 250 peace agreements were concluded. The amount awarded by the Kaunas Labor Disputes Commissions amounts to 1,596,387 euros, of which 1,595,431 are for the benefit of the employees.

“The number of requests for labor disputes grows every year. This year, with the pandemic and quarantine emergencies, the number of requests has increased even more. However, the number of people applying to the Labor Disputes Commission is increasing every year: due to the increasing awareness of the Commission and the fact that labor disputes are free and the process from application to decision takes no more a month, ”said J. Kažukauskaitė-Sarnickienė.