Workers of Bulgaria's Maritsa East mines will go on strike on January 14 demanding bonuses for the mines' increased output and profit in 2011.
Trade unions with the mines demand that each worker get an extra 1,000 levs ($653/511 euro) as the mines' annual output exceeded plans by 6 million tonnes, local daily Dnevnik reported. The company's management refuses to pay the money, saying it has been earmarked for investments.
The mines supply a significant part of the coal on which thermal power plants in the country run, which has prompted media reports about possible power cuts. Speaking in an interview for the state-run television BNT, economy minister Traicho Traikov dismissed these reports as ungrounded.