15 union leaders on hunger strike at Mintia thermal plant

Some 15 trade union leaders at Mintia thermal plant are on hunger strike since Thursday morning, seeking the annulment of the decision by which the auxiliary and technical personnel from the Hunedoara Energy Complex (CEH) will work only four days a week, Mircea Crişovan, the leader of the Independent Free Trade union Deva (SLIED), has told Agerpres.

“We demand the annulment of the temporary interruption of work for the auxiliary staff, the compliance with the collective labour agreement, including regarding redundancy payments for the staff and the dismissal of the CEH management,” the union leader said.

In his view, the decision to temporary suspend the activity cannot be applied for power plants because they require particular preparing for equipment so that the energy units can be switched on safely.

The temporary weekly interruption of activity affects about 400 of the 780 employees of the power plant, the unionists also claim.

The auxiliary and technical personnel from the Hunedoara Energy Complex will stay home on Mondays as of January 2017 and will be paid 75% of the wage, according to a decision made by the company’s management.