Serbia: Struggling factory pays off workers in gold

Workers were paid in gold coins, others in scrap or broken gold

Serbia's one-time flagship gold production plant, has found an ingenious way of settling five-months' worth of arrears to its employees by paying them off in gold.

The Zlatara Majdanpek plant has given each of its 315 employees about 30 grams of 22-carat gold (worth approximately $1,127; £800), after putting aside aside 8kg (17.6 pounds) for the purpose, the Vecernje novosti newspaper reports. Only one person has declined the offer so far, a local union official told Danas daily. The plant, set up in 1970, has been in financial trouble since 2000 and is undergoing restructuring. If the privatisation process - due to begin on 14 October - fails, it is likely to face bankruptcy in the coming months. It's hoped the gold payments will tide workers over until they find new jobs.

However, workers lament the falling value of their salaries, as the price of gold has steadily risen on the world market. "Both my husband and I have worked for the company for 32 years. I got 31 grams and he got 36.5 grams instead of salaries for the past five months," one employee told Vecernje novosti daily, adding that most of it would be used to pay their water and gas bills. "My first salary, I remember, was so good that I could afford to take a group of friends on holiday and still have some money left - now I'm struggling even to pay my kids' school fees," she said.

Some employees were "shocked" by the move, Informer tabloid reports. "Some got sovereigns, others got broken gold, but no-one actually got their arrears in full," the paper quotes one employee as saying. But the director of the cash-strapped company, Milica Jasenski, told Danas the management had no alternative way of settling the debt, and all they could do to help was to secure a good exchange rate. Local trade union official Nikola Popovic appears to back the statement. "We haven't had any problems, and all the workers are happy," Popovic says.

Next story: 'Wrong way' tourism video pulled from internet

Use #NewsfromElsewhere to stay up-to-date with our reports via Twitter.