Ukranian miners at Luganskshakhtoprokhodka have announced a 72 day strike in protest over unpaid wages over the last three years.
Of Luganskshakhtoprokhodka’s 110 employees, 32 are currently occupying the company’s facilities but are refusing to work until their unpaid wages are received. Other miners have gone on unpaid leave, while other employees have reported for work but are not completing their full duties, RUVR.ru reports.
Official representatives of Luganskshakhtoprokhodka recently met at a meeting with the Energy and Coal Mining Ministry and have pledged to pay to repay the miners their salaries.
Luganskshakhtoprokhodka is a mining and construction business headquartered in the city of Lugansk in eastern Ukraine. The company is headed by Ukrainian businessman Yurov Volodymyr Sergijovych, and its chief accounting officer is Irina Oleksandrivna Bozhko.
The strikes at the mining operation come as a surprise due to Ukrainian workers’ typical aversion to this type of activity. According to a study by KyivPost.ua, Ukrainian workers are among the least likely to strike in Europe. In 2008, the country had the lowest number of strikes in Europe, with only 13 strikes. In comparison, Italy saw 1,339 workers strikes during the same time frame.