Miners hold protest in Macedonia

Macedonian miners from the lead and zinc mine Toranica near Kriva Palanka, northeastern of Macedonian, held a protest on Friday demanding to know when will the mine re-open and whether they will receive their paychecks, Macedonian local media reported.

Union leader Branko Dimitrovski said: "We are asking the mayor to provide us with most up to date information about the bankruptcy of the mine. We have also addressed the prime minister and the relevant ministries through our union. We've been waiting for two months to have the situation resolved."

According to Dimitrovski, the company managing the mine recently went bankrupt and the concession was given to a Bulgarian company, Minstroy, but work has not re-started yet.

Mayor Arsenco Aleksovski said: "The mortgage hold placed on the mine property will be removed next week, and that will allow holding an auction to sell its property to the future owner."

The Toranica mine in Macedonian employs 390 miners and staff, and the mine has not paid the last three and half salaries, which the future owner is supposed to reimburse.

Miners from other areas like Zletovo mine near Probistip, suffering the same problems, will join their protest.

The mining and exploration industry in Macedonian has as a significant contribution to the GDP. The mining sector is regulated by a mining law that was last revised in 2014. Enditem