BUND extends job guarantee for PCK refinery in Schwedt by 2025!

BUND extends job guarantee for PCK refinery in Schwedt by 2025!

Schwedt, Brandenburg, Deutschland - The PCK refinery in Schwedt in Brandenburg can breathe a sigh of relief, because the employment guarantee was extended by the end of 2025. Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche made this announcement during a hearing in the Bundestag Committee. The original end of the guarantee would have already taken place next Monday, which caused concerned faces for the approximately 1,200 employees. Reiche emphasized that Schwedt, as a central energy supply center in Brandenburg, plays an important role and that a “sustainable concept” is necessary for the refinery in order to remain able to work even in times of crisis. RBB24 reports that the EU sanctions have no longer been processed by the EU sanctions, which can no longer be processed by Russian crude oil, which is more of a need for alternatives all the more urgent.

The idea of supplying the PCK refinery again with Russian oil is no longer conceivable in the current political Situation. Instead of the usual pipeline oil tanker from Russia, oil from Rostock, Gdansk and around 1.2 million tons from Kazakhstan are now being obtained. Regional politics has clearly recognized the importance of the refinery, and both Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke and Minister of Economics Daniel Keller welcome the federal decision to extend the employment guarantee. However, they also call for specific measures to make the PCK future -proof and ensure the corresponding investments. [Süddeutsche] (https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/arbeitsplaetze-bund-verlaengert-besa-fuer-pck-pck-da. Threat for crude oil supply would represent. 

The situation on site

Brandenburg's Minister of Economics Daniel Keller describes the situation of the PCK refinery as difficult and sees the federal government responsible for making the necessary investments. At an upcoming rally, numerous employees, including Keller and Woidke, will take to the streets to fight for their jobs. The minister therefore calls for a longer -term job guarantee and emphasizes that every fifth resident in Schwedt is directly or indirectly connected to the refinery. This dependence ensures uncertainty, especially because the economic difficulties and the red numbers cannot be overlooked according to the works council. Tagesspiegel reports that the employees also have ambiguities about the future ownership structure of the refinery, since the majority owner Rosneft are intended to take their shares separate. 

The PCK refinery is more than just an industrial location; It is a central part of the energy supply for East Germany and the surrounding regions, including parts of Poland. The challenges that the refinery faces are considerable, but with the extended guarantee of employment there is a spark of hope that the company will remain on the agenda under the given conditions. The political pressure to keep the PCK on a solid course seems to grow, not least because of the massive demonstrations of the population and the employees against the oil embargo and the associated supply situation.