The District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, Poland, will “initiate an investigation into failure to fulfill incumbent obligations and abuse of granted powers by persons obliged under the act and the agreement to engage in the business activity of PKP CARGO SA in the period from 25 July 2022, to 31 July 2023”. The investigation will focus on former Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, PKP Cargo’s former management and the so-called coal decision.
The term coal decision concerns an initiative taken by Morawiecki and his government in July 2022 to give priority to coal transport on the railways until early October that year. This led to PKP Cargo cancelling other contracts, which led to significant financial losses. The Polish operator, now under new (temporary) management, appealed to Warsaw’s prosecutor’s office to hold Morawiecki and PKP Cargo’s former management accountable.
The main accusation towards Morawiecki is that he took these decisions “without prior conclusion of an agreement with the Minister of State Assets and issuing a resolution of the management board of PKP CARGO”. Other than an investigation into the former Prime Minister’s choices, the company asked the current government for financial compensation in lieu of the losses caused by them. However, a decision on this matter does not seem to have been made yet.
PKP Cargo’s current situation
After years of alleged mismanagement, PKP Cargo found itself on the verge of collapsing. Consequently, the new management filed for restructuring proceedings, which were opened at the end of July. According to Wojewódka, the restructuring through cost reduction should take between one and a half and two years.
Many of these cost reductions translate into job cuts at PKP Cargo. One-third of the workforce, over 4,000 people, will be fired as of 30 September 2024, while another third has been placed in inactive status for a year on 1 June 2024. The latter will not be able to go to work and will see their salary reduced by 40 per cent.
Moreover, PKP Cargo found agreements with various companies to transfer a little over 1,800 of the remaining employees. The latest agreement was signed with WARS, a company providing catering services on Polish passenger trains, and should cover around 100 people. Other agreements have been made with Polregio (up to 300), PKP Intercity (up to 400), PKP Intercity Remtrak (up to 300) and PKP PLK (up to 250) and PESA (up to 500).
