Mr. Vladimir Demchyshyn, the Minister of power and mining industry of Ukraine, has stood a very nonconstructive and insulting position in relations with mine-workers and mining unions. It is confirmed by his words that private companies supposedly use the protest actions of coal-miners to bring their pressure to the Ministry. Hundreds of mine-workers, came to Kiev, were extremely outraged by those words which in fact were about venality and lack of initiative of mine-workers and their unions.

Today just the Ministry of energy by its unbalanced management efforts has brought the situation to the fact that mine-workers of state-owned mining companies have not received their wages for two months. This is just the Ministry of power and mining industry of Ukraine stands for a position of 10 times reduction of production volume subsidies to mining enterprises, it also initiates closure of pits, and the mining industry reform turns out to the trite sale of strategic state-owned mining assets. This is just the Ministry of energy watched over behind-the-scene the conclusion of contracts on power import from Russia. Daily power import from Russia – this is 5 000 MT of unburned Ukrainian grade “G” coal. These are thousands of mine-workers who could not earn their livings due to this power import. These are millions of Ukrainian Hrivnas which have gone not to the State Budget in the form of taxes but to funding of energy sector of the country which is at war with Ukraine.

Presidium of Dnepropetrovsk Territorial Union Organization of coal-miming industry submitted its requirements and demands to the Cabinet of Ministers and heads of companies of all forms of property which were included into the “UkrCoalUnion” Central Committee requirements as follows: increase in wages to the rate of inflation, payments to Power Market for consumed power and debts refunding.

Mine-workers of the Western Donbas have a legal right to get their wage level increased since currently at political and economic situation “DTEK PavlograCoal” is a stronghold of mining industry in the country, has still its head above water the entire power complex and protect power independence of Ukraine. Only in 2014 the company produced about 19 million MT of coal and the highest labor productivity per a worker was reached, i.e. 97.4 MT a month. However the wage level of “DTEK PavlograCoal” employees has practically remained unchanged (without increase).    

At the end of last November the PRUP initiated to hold a joint meeting with the “DTEK Energo” mining management regarding the situation at the power market in Ukraine, payments for consumed power and official salary raise. ” In our proposals we requested “DTEK PavlogradCoal” to increase the official salaries to the rate of inflation and negotiate with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on refunding for power consumption.     

Dnepropetrovsk Territorial Union Organization Presidium states that PRUP has not seen either any progress in negotiations with the Ministry or any approaching to the constructive solution of coal-miners problems for the last three days. We have the impression that government officials want simply to draw in empty talk our problems at the “round table”.

If the Ministry does not develop a problem-solving on wages debts, consumed power, increase in mining industry funding and mine-workers social security instead of charges of lack of initiative of mine-workers, the Union will have to initiate further activities to protect social and economic rights of employees.

S.I. Yunak,

Signed

Authorized by the PRUP Presidium