26 May 2004 01:58
Hunger strike at Khakasia mine to continue until wage arrears paid
Of the 157 people taking part in the hunger strike, 22 have
started to take food on doctors' demand. A medical commission is
expected to arrive at the mine later today to examine the striking
ABAKAN. May 26 (Interfax) - Miners at the Yeniseiskaya mine in Siberia's internal republic of Khakasia said they
would continue their hunger strike until all their wage arrears are paid, Nadezhda Nikitina, a spokesperson for the
strike's organizing committee, told local radio in Abakan on Wednesday.
miners.
Two people were hospitalized and another three, who had been hospitalized earlier, joined the hunger strike again on
Tuesday, Nikitina said.
Representatives of the Yeniseiskaya mine's trade union plan to meet with Industry and Energy Minister Viktor
Khristenko today.
Andrei Isayev, head of the State Duma's committee for labor and social policy, told journalists in Moscow on
Tuesday that the owner of the Yeniseiskaya mine was ready to hand over part of his property to the state "in
exchange for credit to pay the miners' back wages."
The prosecutor's office has opened a criminal case against a number of miners taking part in the hunger strike,
who have refused to pump off underground waters from the mine since the strike started, Khakasia's deputy
prosecutor, Nikolai Makeyev, told Abakan radio, adding that this function is currently being fulfilled by units from the
federal mine rescue service. [RU EUROPE EEU EMRG LEG LAW] tm aw <>
[Interfax] |
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