Miners at Kosovo’s once mighty Trepca complex are continuing their weeks-long strike over several months’ worth of unpaid wages.
Miners at the giant Trepca complex in Kosovo entered the 23rd day of a strike on Thursday over unpaid salaries for June and July.
On Thursday, the government said it was reviewing a work plan proposed by the Trepca enterprise and, depending on it and “a concrete commitment to decrease costs and start increasing production”, will decide on financial support.
The press release said the Ministry of Economy had provided 3.3 millions of euros in subsidies, which exceed the planned amount for this year, but it had not been enough to cover operation and salary costs.
On Wednesday, after a meeting with the miners, Ibrahim Januzi, head of the Independent Union of Trepca Miners, told BIRN that the miners felt abandoned. “We are stuck in an abyss, nobody cares about our problems. The poor miner has been left without a salary,” he said.
Trepca’s board on July 30 announced it was discussing a sustainable solution with the government.
In November last year, the miners held a strike inside the mine for ten days, also because they had not been paid. They ended that strike after reaching an agreement with the government.
“The appointment of a new director of Trepca will be announced soon, salaries will not be delayed as they have been delayed so far, and (improved) conditions and security for jobs (were promised),” Gani Osmani, representative of the Trepca Employees’ Union, told BIRN at the time.
The lead, zinc and silver mine complex, which was once Kosovo’s most profitable conglomerate during the Yugoslav period, is split along ethnic lines.
The northern part of the complex employs workers from the Serb-majority north of Kosovo, and is run by Belgrade. The southern part employs Kosovo Albanian workers and is under the control of the Kosovo authorities in Prishtina.
Due to the lengthy dispute over its ownership, the mine only works at a low capacity.
