In Gukovo, miners on protest do not believe promises of authorities

Workers of the coal company "Kingcoal" were twice met by the Mayor and other officials of the town of Gukovo. The miners insist on full repayment of wage arrears; however, they do not believe in the willingness of the authorities to solve their problems.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that since May, in the Rostov Region, the miners of the company "Kingcoal South" regularly hold pickets with the demand to pay their wages.

On July 8, a new picket was held in Gukovo. According to the very protesters, up to 200 people came to their protest action. The picketers report that on July 5, they were met by Viktor Gorenko, Mayor of Gukovo, Valery Potseluiko, City Prosecutor, and Mikhail Tikhonov, Minister of Energy of the Rostov Region.

Following the meeting, the authorities promised to pay the miners a small portion of wage arrears in August. This was told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by Dmitry Kovalenko, one of the organizers of the picket held on July 8.

The miners interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent have said that they are disappointed in the authorities and see no way out of the situation. They believe that it is almost unreal to achieve the payment of wage arrears; however, they intend to go to the end and consider hunger strike as a last resort to fight for their rights.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.