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Bulgaria's State-Owned Mines Stop Work for Hour in Protest |
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Tuesday, 10 January 2012A one-hour warning rally was staged Tuesday morning at the state-owned coal mining company Maritsa Iztok Mines AD with workers saying the actual strike will start on Sunday.
About four thousand miners and administration employees joined the strike action, demanding for a cash bonus they were promised in the summer.
The argument between the management of Maritsa Iztok Mines AD and the syndicates at the state-owned company has been going on for a month, but the talks have failed to bring a resolution.
The syndicates insist that the employer comply with the agreement signed on July 12, 2011 regulating the relative share of the wage costs in relation to the company's revenues.
They claim that Evgeni Stoykov, CEO of Maritsa Iztok Mines AD withdrew his signature from the document despite the anticipated BGN 500 M in revenues of the company, thereby leaving the miners without year-end bonuses.
The management of Maritza Iztok Mines AD, however, has said that it has fulfilled all of its commitments under the agreement.
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov sided with the company's governing body, saying that the miners were better paid than the Finance Minister.
Asked to comment on the matter, Energy Minister Traicho Traikov noted that he appreciated the work of the miners, who had doubled the output of the company, but added that the 15% pay rise they had been given had been an adequate reward.
According to the minister there are no grounds for strike actions because the workers' wages are high, the company is in excellent financial condition and the management has honored its payment commitments.
Estimates show that each day on strike would incur BGN 1.6-1.8 M of losses in unrealized revenues.
The energy minister has assured that there would be no power outages.
The three open-pit mines at Maritsa Iztok Mines AD supply coal to four thermal power plants, whose output covers 25% of the country's electricity needs.
The state-owned company has a total headcount of 7100. |
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Novinite
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