The employees of Kosovo Telecom warned of protests and strikes if the Government does not take any steps to unlock the accounts and return the funds which were blocked and withdrawn by the private company “Dardafon”, as a consequence of a debt.
The President of the Telecom Workers’ Union, Lamih Balaj said during a press conference on Monday that the operation of Telecom and the well-being of its employees is being endangered.
He gave 72 hours to the Government of Kosovo to come up with a solution, adding that this was an ultimatum that could result in consequences “never seen” before.
“The employees don’t care if the funds are going to be transferred back from the Government or from the oligarch Devolli […] From this moment, we are for 72 hours at your disposal to sit and negotiate to find solutions,” Balaj said.
“Dardafon” operated under the trade name “Z-Mobile”, whose 90% of the shares belong to Blerim Devolli.
Z-mobile signed a contract with Kosovo Telecom in 2009 for the delivery of 200,000 SIM cards.
The company accused Kosovo Telecom of failing to provide sufficient SIM cards and 3G and 4G services in breach of the contract. In December 2016, the London Court of International Arbitration ruled in favor of Z-mobile and obliged Kosovo Telecom to pay around 30 million euros in compensation.
