TIRANA, April 17 – A 37-year-old man died from a work-related accident in the Bulqiza mines on Saturday, the latest in a string of deaths that has turned the focus back on the working conditions of miners in the country.
Prime Minister Edi Rama held a hearing this week with miners of the area, who are seeking the approval of a new statute that will raise their wages and retirement pensions.
The mining industry in the country, and particularly in Bulqiza, becomes a hot topic in the country time after time, as unsafe working conditions in the areas’ mines have led to the death of a number of local residents who work to support their families in one of the country’s poorest areas.
During the hearing, the miners made a number of requests justified by the risks related to their job description.
Among them is a raise in minimum miners’ wages, which according to them should not be less than 200 percent of the official minimum wage. Similarly, they seek for the minimum miners’ pension to be 131 percent of the minimum wage.
Additionally, the miners request maximum guaranteed care for the families of miners that have lost their lives working and a drop of their pension age, which at the moment is 55 years old.
Rama, who was accompanied by Minister for Energy and Industry Damian Gjiknuri and Minister of Finance Arben Ahmetaj, said the government is ready to invest more, but always in accordance to the budget and the general interest.
“The sector today is different from what it was. We have seriously invested, and made changes that interest the miners. We also have investments that pave the way for mineral processing in the country. We have reformed the pensions, and this has opened a new perspective for all pensioner miners,” he said during the hearing.
However, Rama added that miners who retired before the reform took place “are suffering the consequences of past lack of courage to reform pensions,” with those retiring under his government gaining a different pension than retirees in the past.
Meanwhile, Ahmetaj said the work group will take into consideration the miners’ requests, but noted it would be easier if all the miners’ trade unions agreed in the requests put forward.
As Rama was keeping the hearing, Socialist Movement for Integration (SMI) lawmaker Perparim Spahiu gave a statement regarding the Miner’s Status which, according to him, the government eradicated three months ago without giving proper explanations.
Spahiu mentioned the 37-year-old miner who lost his life in Bulqiza, the case of another miner who died in the Klos mines a week ago and six other miners who have lost their lives during the last six months in the area’s mines.
“Only the Miner’s Status could ease their situation by ensuring these people a minimal standard of living, the people who work the most difficult and risky job in the country and who contribute so much to the economy,” Spahiu said.
