City awards for USSK employees
Last Wednesday, May 7th, as part of the Kosice City Day celebrations, City Mayor Frantisek Knapik presented awards to a range of citizens including employees of
U. S. Steel Kosice. The Kosice City Award was presented to Human Resources Services Department Manager Jan Perzel, who has worked at the steelworks for 40 years. He was involved in the
origins of the Company's social policy, and in the establishment of Sideria health insurance and Stabilita pension insurance companies, and he is a board member in both companies. The members of
the City Council approved this award for our colleague also for his committed involvement in social life.
The U. S. Steel Kosice research team led by Jozef Bily gained the Kosice City Mayor's Award for their contribution to environmental protection in the area
of development and implementation of environmentally-harmless corrosion-resistant coatings for steel sheet. This team composed of Jozef Bily, Frantisek Holly, Viera Kohoutekova, Vanda Tomkova and
Juraj Graban is responsible for the fact that since September 1st 2006, USSK has produced all of its galvanized sheet material without using passivating solutions based on 6-valent chromium. We
can come across the results of their work in domestic appliances, consumer goods, automobiles and the construction industry.
It will be more prudent to visit the bank before January 1st 2009
A week ago, on Wednesday, May 7th, the European Commision announced its decision to accept the Slovak Republic into the eurozone. This decision is already of great
significance for U. S. Steel Kosice, but it will equally affect the population of Slovakia, individual people, whether they are involved in business or not. Today we continue our
interview with SR Government Commissioner for euro implementation Igor Barat, seeking answers to questions which may interest ordinary citizens.
· How can people change their money?
- The simplest method is to deposit your money in a bank account before the euro comes in, then it will be automatically changed into euros. The euro will be the national currency, but commercial
banks will continue changing Slovak crown coins free of charge until the end of June 2009, and bills until the end of next year. Banks will be entitled to limit the changing of crowns to euros
free of charge based on the number of bills or coins to be changed, but this limit is not allowed to be less than 100 items. The National Bank of Slovakia will continue changing coins until the
end of 2013, and bills without time limit.
· What exchange rate will people be able to get? Who will set the conversion rate, and when?
The conversion rate will be set by the European Parliament, probably in July of this year, because all the countries in the eurozone must agree with this rate, including Slovakia. The proposal
for setting it will be made by the European Commission. The Parliament will also consult the European Central Bank about the rate. The conversion rate will be established as a coefficient with
six effective digits - two before the decimal point and four following it. Although we will already know the official conversion rate this summer, it will become effective only when the euro is
implemented in Slovakia, so most likely from January 1st 2009.
