At today’s meeting about the situation in the Zenica Brown Coal Mine, which was held in Kakanj, it was agreed that in the coming period, they will try to resolve the issue of payments to the miners very quickly – said the director of RMU Zenica Mensur Hukić.
Zenica miners stopped production last Wednesday due to unpaid January wages.
Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Vedran Lakić, after today’s meeting in Kakanj, also answered the question of whether RMU Zenica is needed by the electric energy sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“I think that is a key question that should be asked to all experts and we should get an answer to it in a very short period of time. I think in two weeks. Today, as the ministry and the Electric Industry, we asked for an urgent meeting and initiated it again. we see with the management of Rudnik Zenica and with representatives of the Trade Union, and in connection with the meeting we had in October last year – when we agreed on some things. It was then agreed that we will have three phases until the reorganization of RMU Zenica”, reminded Lakić.
It was agreed, he said, that in the first phase 150 workers of that mine will be provided with social care, which will be brought to a higher level of production.
“What happened from then until today is that the union, for its part, did absolutely everything we agreed on – Elektroprivreda BiH gave 41.2 million KM and took care of 199 workers from RMU Zenica, the Government of FBiH increased the price of coal by 30 percent or more for all mines, we agreed on the Collective Agreement and increased miners’ wages, which was the commitment of the entire FBiH Government.
What was missing, however, was the promised level of production that was supposed to guarantee that revenues would be secured in this mine and that there would be enough funds to pay salaries. That is not the case today, and for that reason we felt that today we should have a new meeting and, probably, we should hire our experts again, to tell us what to do next. As far as we have heard today, the mood is not good when it comes to production and the question of whether it will be in the future,” said Lakić.
He added that everyone should be honest and face these facts and make “a sober decision”. The decision, he announced, will be made by everyone together – the Ministry, EPBiH, Management of RMU Zenica and the Trade Union.
“It has been agreed that an expert team will be formed by the mine, which will make a detailed study or report on the situation in the Zenica Mine – in the short and long term, regarding the future and the situation in the Zenica Mine. There is still no concrete solution, but in the national period, try to solve it quickly,” announced Hukić.
He pointed out that the money for the salaries of the miners will be found with the support of the Governing Company of the Public Company Elektroprivreda Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as they have done so far in such situations.
“The report, which should be made by an expert team, will tell what and what are the next steps, what needs to be done. We should not prejudge,” said Hukić. He hopes, he added, that the workers will not wait long for the payment of their wages.
Acting General Director of EPBiH Sanel Buljubašić pointed out that they had already addressed the public with a press release and explained that they had complied with the decisions of the Assembly of that company regarding loans to RMU Zenica and other mines from the JP EPBiH Concern.
“To be honest, we also solved the Program for taking care of surplus workers, which was carried out in RMU Zenica. In total, through those loans, 199 miners were taken care of. So, at this moment, EPBiH has fulfilled all its obligations through RMU Zenica.
The problem in RMU Zenica is that in this period production was at a percentage of 32 percent. The good thing about all these loans is that, in the first two months of this year, we managed to increase production in the other mines and, believe me, I don’t regret all the energy that I spent in this period, until now – and I spent mostly to the mines.
At least for the other mines, we have made progress. We are not giving up on the Zenica Mine, and it is not fair or correct to say that we are giving up, but, frankly, for such a complex problem – which dates back dozens of years, you cannot solve it at today’s meeting.
We remain committed, we will meet, if necessary every day, and we will find a solution. The miners and miners of RMU Zenica do not need to worry about two salaries, we will find a solution for that as well, but it must have a legal basis and a financial basis,” said Buljubasic.
At the moment, he underlined, they don’t have that, so they can’t even say when the salaries will be paid to the miners in Zenica. He added that the deadline should not be too long, but everyone is of the opinion that it must be done. The management of the Zenica mine, he added, must find a solution in which they can operate in a self-sustaining manner.
“In this way, the Zenica Mine can no longer operate. You cannot count on long-term loans from the EPBiH, and respond with a production of 32 percent,” said Buljubasic, who added that he did not want to blame anyone.
to pay attention to the situation in the Zenica mine.
The President of the Independent Union of Mining Workers FBiH Sinan Husić said that it is ungrateful to say whether they are satisfied with the outcome of today’s meeting, but they agreed that, in the past six months, RMU Zenica, in addition to money for delivered coal, also provided financial support for ongoing operations of 41,000,000 KM.
He added that the first phase of the reorganization and restructuring of RMU Zenica was successfully completed.
“We know, all together, that we set ourselves some goals for that six-month period. Unfortunately, we did not realize those goals in Zenica, and today we are in a situation where we have a catastrophic situation. We are pleased by the fact that we agreed that the payment salaries for January and February 2024 is an obligation that cannot be ignored,” said Husić, who expects specific solutions regarding the payment of two salaries to the Zenica miners during the next week.
When the study is prepared, he added, it will be necessary, in accordance with the current legal regulations, to make a decision whether to continue with the process of reorganization or complete closure of the Zenica mine. It is not realistic, he added, that the miners will resume production without paid wages. Until then, he said, the miners will not work.
