Suspension of work in two pit facilities of the Zenica Coal Mine is still ongoing, according to Biznis Info news portal.
Zenica miners are not still in the pits today, only inspection workers are employed in the plants, Nijaz Vardo, president of the RMU Zenica Union, told RTV Zenica.
The decision of the Subsidiary of the Zenica Brown Coal Mine to pay Zenica miners less wages for the month of March has caused dissatisfaction with the miners, who have been boycotting production at the Stara Jama and Raspotocje plant since Monday.
Zenica miners have suspended work at both mine facilities on Monday because of a decision by the Management Board of Zenica Coal Mining Company (RMUZ) to reduce their salaries by about 200 BAM in March.
“The administration complied with the decision to increase the hourly rate to 2.70, but took us the allowances we were entitled to under the Pay Regulations, which has been in effect for the past 10 years.”
The union was neither informed nor given its consent to such a decision, so the reaction of the miners was expected and logical.
“Reducing someone’s salary by 200 BAM in a time like this, especially when the production is 49,000 tons per month, is neither normal nor right,” Vardo said.
He notes that they have had meetings trying to agree on a new Pay Rule, but that no agreement has been reached, the miners believe that the act has been valid until now.