MISD: Police to force strikers out

11/08/2011 15:10

The Mine Inspection and Salvation Department asked the State Police to
force the miners out of the galleries, because the strike is degrading
the mine structures and it risks to collapse.

“MISD appealed State Police to urgently intervene and guarantee the safety of the miners and of the mine itself, which is considered a national wealth”, declared the director of this department, Sajmir Zekaj.

Zekaj added that the security measures deteriorated only because work was interrupted, and he denied that these damages were created before the strike.

“The last inspection was made on March, and there were no serious problems for work safety. The difficult conditions inside the mines are created when there is a lack of constant maintenance”, Zekaj added.

But these declarations are opposed by an official document of the Ministry of Energy. On July 20th, several days before the mineworkers started their strike inside the galleries, the Minsiter Nasip Naço partially suspended the license of ACR. The official declaration of this Ministry says that the suspension was issued because the company had not implemented the security measures, and this was noted exactly by MISD.

These two facts contradict each other, and this raises a question. Which is the right version? That of the MISD director, saying that conditions deteriorated due to the strike, or that of the official document of the Ministry, saying that the miners have worked all the time without safety conditions, because ACR had not made the investments on safety conditions, as provided by the concessionary agreement?

Top Channel