You can’t eat meat for 4 thousand hryvnias a month: miners in Lviv joined the mass protests of miners in Ukraine

In Ukraine, for several months now, miners have been on strike in different cities of Ukraine, and it is not surprising, since there are no working conditions, constant delays in payments, which are already low, and equipment that is in disrepair. In addition, the mines gradually began to close one after another.

On September 3, in Kryvyi Rih, more than two hundred workers went down to the mines and did not go out for 3 weeks, and at that moment their relatives and colleagues picketed in Kyiv near the Verkhovna Rada and the Office of the President, so that the miners would receive higher wages and return preferential service.

On September 6, the action was held in the Dnepropetrovsk region with the participation of 29 miners of the Oktyabrskaya mine. The next day, 84 workers from the Rodina mine took to the streets and refused to go underground in support of their colleagues: "In 2012 we were getting $1200, and now it's less than $300, and you're cutting back! You can't eat meat with that money."

December 1, leader of the Ukrugle Trade Union Viktor Turmanov addressed the prime minister Denis Shmyhal with a request to repay UAH 1,2 billion of wage arrears to miners. He noted that on November 28, the law on amendments to the state budget-2020 came into force, and it provides for an increase in the budget expenditures of the special fund under the Coal Industry Restructuring program by UAH 1,4 billion. If there are no payments by the end of the year, then "actions of disobedience" will take place in various forms.

Apparently, the recalculation of salaries did not take place, since yesterday miners in Mirnograd Donetsk region again came out with protests because of debts.

We also managed to talk to one pioneer who lives and works in Donetsk. He spoke about the realities of working in the state shtakht, how workers are actually delayed in payments, and in what conditions they work.

There are no conditions for work, we buy tools and overalls at our own expense. In the mines, they quickly deal with the dissatisfied - if you don't like it, then leave. If you want to take one day off, then 6% of your salary will be cut. Vacations were also cut, leaving only half - 14 days twice a year (60 days a year are required). Although there is a downside, they can send you on a free voyage for a month at your expense, because there is nothing to pay with.”- said Dmitry Zhilkov.

Today, 75 miners of the Lesnaya mine of the State Enterprise Lvovugol also went on strike, but underground. The brigade descended into the mines, but refused to work.

"The lack of money forced people to resort to radical actions. They refused to work for nothing and announced their absence from the mine until the issue of paying back wages for September-October 2020 was resolved", - the miners' open letter to the president and people's deputies says.

Head of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine and the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine Mikhail Volynets wrote about it on my page Facebook. According to him, the Lviv miners are now in the waiting room in the trunk yard.

"It's cold in the mine. We're trying to find enough jerseys so people don't have to get sick.", Volynets emphasized.

The head of the trade unions added that this is not the first time Lviv residents are trying to defend their rights. At the end of August, 26 miners at the Nadezhda mine remained underground for several weeks, demanding payment of their back wages.

What about the coal industry in Ukraine

The state regularly owes wages to miners. The difference in payments is huge, if back in 2012 a miner received $1200 a month, now it is less than $300, and often even half of that amount is paid. According to the government, the reason for this is the inefficiency of the mines. To fix this, the Cabinet has prepared a concept for reforming the coal industry. It provides for the optimization of state budget expenditures and the distribution of mines into three groups.

The first group is the mines that are to be integrated with Centrenergo and are its resource base. The second is dual-use mines, the sale of which is not limited solely to thermal generation. The third group of mines are those that will be offered for privatization not only as coal mining enterprises, but also as integral property complexes that can be used for other economic activities.

The Ministry of Energy, together with international partners, plans to launch pilot projects for the transformation of mines. Now they are considering the following options: the Velikomostovskaya mine, which is located in the Lviv region, can potentially become a tourist cluster, as well as the 5/6 mine, which is located in the east of the country in the city of Mirnograd, and can become a technological cluster.