site.btaMiners, Owner Reach Agreement in Manganese Mine Conflict

Miners, Owner Reach Agreement in Manganese Mine Conflict

Sofia, March 24 (BTA) - A standoff between miners and the owner of a manganese mine in the northeastern village of Obrochishte came to an end late on Thursday when an agreement was signed with the mediation of Energy Minister Nikolai Pavlov and Ombudsman Maya Manolova.

The Obrochishte miners started protesting on March 9 and went on a hunger strike on March 22 with demands for timely wage payment and higher pay. They demanded a 30 per cent increase of salaries and urged the government to revisit a 25-year concession agreement signed for the mine with Euromanganese in 1999.

After the General Labour Inspectorate stepped in, on Thursday the miners started to receive the food vouchers for January. On March 14 the miners were paid their January wages and the owner promised to pay out the wages for February by March 30.

The Obrochishte mine is among the four biggest in the world and there are all reasons to expect it to be making a hefty profit, if properly operated, Ombudsman Manolova commented for the press Thursday when the talks started with the owner.

The talks lasted four hours before the agreement was reached. It envisages that the wages of all workers will be increased by 158 leva from April 1, 2017; that food vouchers will also be due for work during weekends; that medical checkups will be done annually beginning no later than three months from now; that the rate for night work will be increased by 0.02 leva/hour; that the days of the protest from March 9 to 22 will count against the paid annual leave entitlement.

As a result of the agreement, the miners call off their strike from March 24.