MINISTERY OF ECONOMY AND ARTWORKS AND PUBLIC SERVICES

Decree 685/97

Authorize the contract with the Union Union Ferroviaria, of the concession of the Public Service of Cargo Transport of the General Railway Company Belgrano Sociedad Anónima.

Bs. As., 23/7/97

B.O.: 28/07/97

VISTO Issue No. 558-000377/97 of the Register of the MINISTERY of ECONOMY AND ARTWS AND PUBLIC SERVICES and Law No. 23,696, and

CONSIDERING:

On 7 April 1997, the UNION FERROVIARIA Trade Union presented a proposal for the direct award of the cargo services of the FERROCARRIL General Company BELGRANO SOCIEDAD ANONIMA.

That in fojas 7/20, of the dossier, work legal-technical report produced at the request of the SUBSECRETARIA DE TRANSPORTE METROPOLITANO AND DISTANCIAL LARGA of the SECRETARIAN ARTWORKS PUBLICS AND TRANSPORTE of the MlNISTERY OF ECONOMY AND ARTS AND PUBLIC SERVICEs, which presented the feasibility of the proposal.

That the company FERROCARRIL GENERAL BELGRAN SOCIEDAD ANONIMA, is currently in charge, under the excision of the FERROCARRILES ARGENTINOS Company (in liquidation) provided by Decree No. 1774 of 23 August 1993, of the sector of the National Railway Network composed of the then FERROCARRIL GENERAL BELGRANO, excluding the jurisdiction corresponding to the METROPOLITANOS METROPOLITANOS SOCIED ANAD AN

That the State Anonymous Society created, as provided for in Article 3 of Decree No. 1774/93, through which its Social Statute was approved, is responsible for the provision of the cargo transport service of the then FERROCARRIL GENERAL BELGRAN, in a temporary way and until privatization is proceeded for its concession, provided for in Law No. 23.696.

That the application body turns out to be the MINISTERY OF ECONOMY AND ARTWORKS AND PUBLIC SERVICES.

According to its Social Statute, the General FERROCARRIL Company BELGRAPHONE SOCIEDAD ANONIMA is governed by Law No. 19.550, and therefore has extensive recruitment powers to hire directly, governed by the rules of civil or labour law, as appropriate.

On the other hand, it empowers the contracting of the Union as prescribed by Law No. 23.696, which in its Article 15, paragraph 7) establishes as one of the alternatives of privatization the figure of the concession for the exploitation of public services or of public interest to which the assets, companies or establishments that are deprived are affected.

That Article 16 of Law No. 23.696 provides that the NATIONAL EXECUTIVE PODER may grant preferences for the acquisition of the companies, companies, establishments or productive haciendas declared "subject to privatization", when the acquirers are framed in some of the following classes, unless monopolistic or subjective situations arise ... subsection (2) "Let them be employed by the entity to privatize, of any hierarchy, in relation to dependence, organized or organized in Participated or Cooperative Property Program, or other legally constituted intermediary entities."

In accordance with the above-mentioned articles, Article 18 of Act No. 23,696 states that the modalities regulated by Article 17 of the same rule may be executed by various means by providing in paragraph (5) the figure of direct procurement, when the assumptions of Article 16 (2), (3), (4) and (5) of the Act are given.

That by virtue of the above it turns out that the ex- FERROCARRIL GENERAL BELGRANO, since it was declared subject to privatization (in the form of concession) by Law No. 23.696, Annex I, as an integral part of the FERROCARRILES ARGENTINOS Company (in liquidation), may be granted to the UNION FERROVIARIA Trade Union, under the modality of selection of direct procurement, as a result of an intermediary entity legally constituted for the representation of the railway employees

That such a contract not only does not constitute the constitution of a monopoly, given that the ex-FERROCARRIL General BELGRANO is only one of the branches of rail transport and that there are various channels of transport in competition with it, but it consecrates the mandate of Article 14 bis of the NATIONAL CONSTITUTION, of participation of workers in the profits of the company, by entrusting the exploitation of the service to the workers of the company.

That it is feasible to award the Concession of the General FERROCARRIL FERROCARRIL General BELGRAN SOCIEDAD ANONIMA, to an Anonymous Society formed by the UNION FERROVIARIA union, with a share of the NOVENTA and NEW by SCIENT (99 %), and the NATIONAL STATE, with an share of UNO by SCIENT (1 %).

That also authorizes the MINISTERY OF ECONOMY AND ARTWORKS AND PUBLIC SERVICES, in its capacity of application authority, to the signing of the contract of concession of the service of transport of cargo of the company FERROCARRIL General BELGRAN SOCIEDAD ANONIMA with the company BELGRAN CARGA SOCIED ANONIMA, ad-referendum of the PODER

It has taken the intervention of the General SINDICATURA OF NATION, as stipulated in Article 104 (m) of Law No. 24.156.

That the permanent legal service of the MINISTERY OF ECONOMY AND ARTWORKS AND SERVICES PUBLICOS has taken the intervention that belongs to him.

That the present decree is issued in exercise of the powers granted by Article 99, paragraph 1, of the NATIONAL CONSTITUTION, and in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 23,696.

Therefore,

THE PRESIDENT OF THE ARGENTINA NATION

RIGHT:

Article 1Authorize the MINISTERY OF ECONOMY AND ARTWORKS AND SERVICES PUBLICS to hire with the Union UNION FERROVIARIA the concession of the Public Service of Cargo Transport of the Company FERROCARRIL GENERAL BELGRANO SOCIEDAD ANONIMA, following the procedure provided for in Article 18 (5) of Law No. 23.696.

Art. 2o-The Union UNION FERROVIARIA will have to form an Anonymous Society which will be called BELGRAN CARGAS SOCIEDAD ANONIMA, in order to assume the concession referred to in the previous article. The capital of that society will belong in a NOVENTA and NUEVE BY SCIENT (99 %) to the UNION FERROVIARIA union and in ONE BY SCIENT (I %) to the NATIONAL STATE.

Art. 3o-MINISTERY OF ECONOMY AND ARTWORKS AND SERVICES PUBLICS will establish the operating technical conditions and will sign the concession contract with the Sociedad BELGRAN CARGAS SOCIEDAD ANONIMA ad - referendum of the NATIONAL EXECUTIVE PODER.

Art. 4o-MINISTERY OF ECONOMY AND ARTWORKS AND SERVICES PUBLICOS shall be the authority for the implementation of this decree, having the authority to dictate the relevant supplementary rules.

Art. 5o - Communicate the BICAMERAL COMMISSION ON STATE REFORM AND FOLLOW-UP TO PRIVATIZATIONS established by Article 14 of Law No. 23,696.

Art. 6o-Contact, post, give to the National Directorate of the Official Register and archívese.-MENEM.-Jorge A. Rodríguez.Roque B. Fernández.