The miners in Jiu Valley,
\nRomania’s biggest coal extraction site and located in the central-western part
\nof the country, ended their underground protest that lasted several days after the
\nauthorities in Bucharest found a solution to pay the salaries which the
\nHunedoara Energy Complex did not pay on time. A decision was adopted that allows
\nfor the payment of owed salary rights in the case of insolvent companies as
\nwell, as is the case with this energy complex, which has been in a critical situation
\nfor more than a year. Following this decision, the miners will receive their last
\nmonth’s salary and some of the sums owed for meal and transport vouchers. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The almost 70 miners who protested
\nunderground decided to resurface after a trade union leader went down into the
\nmine with the document signed by the authorities. After days underground, one
\nof the miners needed medical assistance. Another miner said he decided to join
\nthe protest on his very last at work before retirement. Protesters say that
\nleaving aside the solution found this time, many problems remain, such as a shortage
\nof materials and equipment needed for working underground, something that cannot
\nbe resolved without investments. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The solution found by the
\ngovernment this time ensures the miners’ salaries for the next three months,
\nwhile their company needs to reorganise and propose a long-term plan. According
\nto the energy minister Virgil Popescu, work on this plan started last year and
\nmay be finalised in a month and a half. He added that the process is in its
\nfinal stage and that it lasted so long because of the legal bureaucracy that
\nhad to with the insolvency procedure, and which involved legal challenges, a court
\naction against the declaration of bankruptcy and the rejection of the challenge
\nin court. The minister underlined that the company basically doesn’t have
\nenough funds and that the coal production can no longer cover the costs. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The Hunedoara Energy
\nComplex, which has been undergoing a process of insolvency for a long time,
\nrecently benefitted from state aid, being artificially kept functioning despite
\nrunning huge losses. The company found itself unable to pay salaries and cover
\nother service costs owing to the cut of the January subsidy for Lonea mine,
\nwhich is in the process of being closed. In 2018, the European Commission found
\nthat the Hunedoara Energy Complex received incompatible state aid worth some 60
\nmillion euros in the form of four loans financed by public funds. The Commission
\nsays Romania must recover the aid granted illegally and the corresponding interest
\nrate. In 2019, despite the Commission’s findings, the government in Bucharest
\nagain decided to grant the complex state aid by erasing all its debts. To date,
\nthis emergency order is yet to be enforced. (CM)<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jiu Valley miners end underground protest and resurface after agreement with government on payment of owed salaries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":106,"featured_media":88183,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[40191,40190,29437],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-88182","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-jiu","tag-mine","tag-protest"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n