On Monday 12 December 2016 the Alternate Minister of National Defence Dimitris Vitsas, accompanied by the Chief of HNGS Vice Admiral Georgios Giakoumakis, visited the premises of the Hellenic Shipyards of Skaramagkas and the Neorion Elefsis Shipyards.
They first stopped at the ELLI frigate at the Hellenic Shipyards of Skaramagkas, which is in the tank undergoing various works. They then visited the Navy Echelon of Skaramagkas and the site where works are conducted, in the context of the submarines programme. Afterwards he visited the offices of “I TRIENA” labour union, where he talked with the workers and answered their questions.
The Alternate Minister of National Defence while talking to the workers of the Hellenic Shipyards of Skaramagkas stressed that the political will of the government is to keep the Shipyards open, underlining that with the conducted interventions and the ongoing works of the Hellenic Navy, the pay of the workers and the Shipyards function are secured until April 2017.
At the same time he added that the government examines the works that still need to be done, so that this procedure will last even longer. To that end in the near future various meetings will take place in the context of the interministerial instrument for the naval construction industry. However, he stressed, it is certain that the Shipyards cannot function only based on projects of the Hellenic Navy and that is why the government strives to find projects out of the Armed Forces sector, in combination with the positive climate shaping internationally in the sector of naval construction industry.
The Alternate Minister of National Defence assured the workers that the government is on their side and stressed that any solution for the proprietary issue will include the fulfillment of all the obligations of the employment towards the workers, public organisations and insurance funds. The government’s goal, he added, is that any solution for the proprietary issue will offer the shipyards the capability to function commercially.
He then visited the Neorion Elefsis Shipyards, where he was briefed on the development of the programme for the shipbuilding of missile boats and then he visited the sites where the works are conducted.
The Alternate Minister of National Defence met with the workers of the Neorion Elefsis Shipyards and visited the Shipyards’ Administration offices to talk with the company’s Administration.
During his visit to the Neorion Elefsis Shipyards the Alternate Minister of National Defence concluded that there is an important development in the programme’s execution for the shipbuilding of the missile boats and remarked that any delays are caused by external factors, like bureaucracy. He remarked that it is positive to have the Shipyards functioning and undertaking commercial projects.
He also made the assessment that the construction of seven new missile boats of the Hellenic Navy at Elefsis – 5 have already integrated into the Hellenic Navy and 2 are under construction – will attract orders from abroad in the near future.
The visit was concluded with a walk at the refugees hospitality centre located at the Neorion Elefsis Shipyards at the premises of the former merchant marine academy, where more than 250 refugees are accommodated.
