Update: 360 miners at Paroseni and Uricani stage protests, late wages to be paid following negotiations

Some 360 miners at Paroseni and Uricani coal mines in Valea Jiului area have self-blocked underground during the night of Monday to Tuesday. They are dissatisfied with not cashing in their wages for November, payments being delayed by one week.

The miners from Uricani and Paroşeni will receive the late wages later on Tuesday, as the accounts of the National Society of Mine Closure Jiu Valley (SNIMVJ) was credited with the subsidy for mining for October, ‘Huila’ trade union leader Laszlo Domokosha has announced after negotiations.

He noted that in the morning he had discussions with management and administration of SNIMVJ and the Hunedoara Energy Complex (CEH) management, a protocol was signed so that the coal extracted by SNIMVJ will be paid by the CEH.

The trade union leader said he will travel to Paroşeni and Uricani to explain the miners the agreement reached, adding that there are prerequisites for the 360 miners’ protest to end.

The protest started Monday evening at Paroseni mine, during the third shift and has extended to Uricani mine by Tuesday morning with the miners in shifts 4 and 1, Laszlo Domokos, the leader of ‘Huila’ trade union said in the morning.

“Overall, the two coal mines have 357 miners protesting, from shifts 1, 3 and 4. They’re all discontent for not receiving the wages for November,” the trade union leader said.

A miners’ delegation met Tuesday morning the director general of the national company for mines Aurel Anghel in the attempt to find solutions to the crisis.

The trade union leader said he would request the intervention of the Economy Ministry in solving the protest and to set a timetable for rescheduling the payments for the supplied coal, including for the months of December 2016 and January 2017 – at least the wages could be covered, he said.

Vulcan and Lonea miners show solidarity

The miners at the coal mines of Vulcan and Lonea, with the Energy Complex Hunedoara (CEH) claim solidarity with the protesters, saying delays in paying the wages could occur to them too if CEH does not call for insolvency, Ioan Ciubotaru, secretary general of ‘Muntele’ trade union, said.

“What is happening to them now it could happen to us in December, if the CEH does not call for insolvency. We ask for re-entering the insolvency procedure, otherwise we will have problems in paying the wages in December,” Ciubotaru said.

“At Lonea mine the miners were asked to recoup the 2016 production, although there’s crisis in terms of equipment, materials and personnel crisis,” the trade union leader added.

CEH was insolvent during January-May 2016, then the file was resent for retrial in Deva by the Hunedoara Court and the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal.  On June 23 the Hunedoara Court decided to place CEH insolvent again, but the procedure was lifted on November 8, following an appeal upheld by the Alba Iulia Court of Appeal.