The director of mine №10 ‘Novovolynska’ Sergei Kozhushkin tried to convince workers not to hold a hunger strike. But miners were in despair and refused to take silence. For now about fifty miners from the first shift has been already starving. Their colleagues from next shift are going to join them.
The head primary organization of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine of mine №10 ‘Novovolynska’ Vasily Pradid told about the workers’ demands.
"Our requirement is simple and honest. We demand to resolve the situation with the salary arrears at the enterprise. The miners haven’t been paid out their salaries for three months. We also require to provide funds from state budget for the completion of mine. Also we call on the Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Igor Nasalyk to come to us immediately and started a social dialog, discuss with miners and trade union the real ways of solving problems".
On October 27, about three hundred miners from Novovolynsk state mines protested and blocked the customs Yagodyn transition. In such a way they wanted to draw the attention of the Ukrainian authorities and the international community to the problem of non-payment.
"Unfortunately, this protest didn’t produce results, - said the Head of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine Mychailo Volynets. – Also Novovolynsk miners visited Kyiv, where they picketed the parliament and the government. So miners had to resort to extreme measures as hunger strike".