Okay, I understand. You are right to say that employees have precedence. Salaries are paid before anything else. That is already a legal requirement.
When I mentioned a plumber, I was referring to a plumber from another company. Nortel was not a plumbing company, but it needed to establish contracts with companies that would provide those services.
What I am saying is that small companies provide services to big companies. If the big companies then go bankrupt, the small companies are creditors as well. So, if you give other creditors a higher priority, it means that the small companies will be left behind.