Striking Tkibuli Miners Request Meeting with Authorities
Workers of the Dzidziguri mine in Tkibuli, a mining town in west-central Georgia, Imereti region, are refusing to go back to work until their working conditions are improved and missed days are remunerated.
The workers explain that their protest followed a decision of the company to temporarily shut down the Dzidziguri shaft, “forcing” employees to move to a hazardous location through the underground ventilation tunnel, which workers refused to do after five miners were taken to Kutaisi hospital allegedly due to poisoning from the gas which had accumulated in the same tunnel.
The employees call on the company to pay them for the missed days and say they will then return to work, but only because they have “no other way.”
“We refused to work in the shaft because the conditions there were incompatible with our health and safety. This is what happened a few days ago when five of us were poisoned by gas. Administration took the poisoned workers to hospital not by ambulance but in their own cars, to hide the incident,” the workers said.
They state that the ventilation tunnel is tricky to move through and is dangerous for health as it emits exhaust gases from the entire shaft.
“We have to walk around four kilometers daily in this dangerous environment. In addition to this, poisoning and fatalities can occur at any time. The employer tells us that we will be back to our old mode of work in three months. We are well aware that the same terrible conditions that will destroy our health and threaten to kill us again await us,” the miners stated.
The workers stressed they do not feel support from the state and they agree to go back to work only if their missed salaries are paid from the launch of the strike.
“We are requesting an open meeting with the employer company with the participation of a state representative. At this meeting, we expect clear answers to our questions and reasonable deadlines to meet our requirements,” the statement, released on Saturday, reads.
The miners highlight that after the tragic death of 10 miners in 2018, the Prime Minister promised that unless the working environment was safe, coal mining would not continue this is a promise, they say, that was not kept.
“We remember this promise every time we go into the mine. Failure to comply with this requirement by the state enables the company to use our social status and make us work in a life-threatening environment. This cannot last much longer, and new tragedies will be seen if we continue working in such conditions. The state and company will be equally responsible for this,” the statement reads.
The Dzidziguri mine workers first went on strike in late February, claiming the mine train had been damaged for a week, meaning they had to walk several kilometers to perform their duties. They also stated the company planned to close the mine, and some of the workers would be left without jobs.
The mine owner company ‘Coal of Georgia’ Director Mikheil Sotski noted then that it was not planned to reduce the number of workers and the Dzidziguri mine was stopped due to technical issues. He said the company also planned to renovate the mine infrastructure.
In September 2019, up to 30 workers went on strike in Mindeli and Dzidziguri mines, demanding delayed salaries. Georgia's industrial group Saknakhshiri LTD responded to the miners’ protest, saying that the company was facing financial problems, and the workers were informed about this.
To note, as a result of industrial accidents in April and June 2018, 10 miners were killed in the Mindeli Shaft in Tkibuli, after which work was temporarily halted. Since then, the miners have been on a strike multiple times demanding safe working conditions and better salaries.
By Tea Mariamidze
Image source: fortuna.ge