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Thousands Of Coal Bulgarian Miners Join Strike For Higher Pay

Thousands Of Coal Bulgarian Miners Join Strike For Higher Pay
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Δευ, 16 Ιανουαρίου 2012 - 19:05
Thousands of miners at Bulgaria's largest state-owned coal producer, Maritza East Mines, joined an open-ended strike for higher pay, miners' union leader Vladimir Topalov said Monday.
Thousands of miners at Bulgaria 's largest state-owned coal producer, Maritza East Mines, joined an open-ended strike for higher pay, miners' union leader Vladimir Topalov said Monday.

About 95% of night-shift workers at the three open-pit mines near Radnevo, in central Bulgaria , launched the protest action Sunday evening, followed by 90% of the day shift Monday, Topalov told AFP.

Company data put the workers' participation at 79%.

The miners demanded pay rises in accordance with rising production, which topped 33 million metric tons last year, surpassing the target of 27 million tons. But management, which already distributed some bonuses last year, said it couldn't offer more in times of crisis.

Several rounds of talks between the unions and the company management also failed to find a solution.

"We are ready to negotiate but the management has to give us what we deserve for our work," Topalov insisted.

The 7,000 miners employed by Maritza East Mines work 12-hour shifts for an average monthly salary of about 1,500 leva ($972).

The largest coal producer in Bulgaria supplies 90% of all lignite used for electricity generation.

The strike effectively cut supplies to all four power stations at the Maritza East complex--Bulgarian Brikel and Maritza East 2 and US-owned Contour Global Maritza East 3 and AES Galabovo--which provide 32% of all electricity used in the country.

The plants' stocks should be enough to keep them going at full capacity for another 15-20 days, Maritza East Mines officials said. Even after that, power outages were unlikely as the Economy and Energy Ministry said it was prepared to call on reserve capacities.

These would however generate power at a much higher cost, Minister Traicho Traikov said Sunday, warning the miners that their strike might endanger the company, with estimated daily losses of up to BGN3.0 million.

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