Pavel Kravec and Pavol Tarcala, nominees of the Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) in the state-run railway company ZSSK, pledged to return the large severance payments they received when they were dismissed from their posts, KDH chairman Ján Figeľ announced after the party's extraordinary session on June 14, the TASR newswire reported.
Figeľ also stated that both Kravec and Tarcala are ending their party membership immediately so that they will not damage KDH's reputation any further.
"This gesture is unprecedented ... and it should set an example for many others," said Figeľ, as quoted by TASR. Kravec, the former director of ZSSK, received €170,000 as a golden parachute while ZSSK managerial board member Tarcala's dismissal was cushioned by €100,000.
Figeľ called on other former managers of state-run companies who received large bonuses or severance to return the money.
"We’ve been calling on Prime Minister Robert Fico to publish the data on bonuses in state companies ... paid over the past ten years," said Figeľ, who in the end accepted only part of the blame and responsibility for the situation.
TASR wrote that Figel said that these nominees represented a big disappointment for him but in the same breath praised how much work was done at the Transport Ministry during KDH's recent tenure (July 2010-April 2012). "I personally didn't sign any specific sums; only in the case of Slovak Post, I agreed with the conditions a year in advance," he stated.
Kravec and Tarcala, the only actual members of KDH from among the sacked managers, also left the party on Thursday. Kravec, whose case was widely covered in the media, refused to talk to the Sme daily when leaving the KDH headquarters.
Sme wrote that proposal of KDH MP Radoslav Prochazka for the KDH party to reimburse the large severance pay of its members from party funds has now become groundless.
Source: TASR, Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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