Moscow, August 6 (RFE/RL) -- Miners will go on a nationwide strike on August 25 unless the government pays all back wages, Vitaly Budko, the chairman of Russia's independent miners' union, warned today
The government owes miners 1.7 trillion rubles ($324 million) in back wages, while industry owes miners a further six trillion rubles.
Thousands of miners returned to work in the Far East today following settlement of a three-week strike, said Boris Krivolapov, a spokesman for Russia's Primorskugol coal company. But some 30,000 miners in Russia's southern Rostov region are continuing their walkout.
Strike leaders met in Vladivostok yesterday with Yuri Malyshev, leader of the state-run coal company, Rusugol, and with Yuri Shafranik, Russia's fuel and energy minister.
Malyshev promisAug 8 20:11:14 afpd[9577]: afp_enumerate: stat BBBB.HTML: No such file or directory ed to pay a portion of backwages, the equivalent of some $8 million, within one week and the rest by the end of this year. Some miners have not received their wages for five months.
The government owes miners 1.7 trillion rubles ($324 million) in back wages, while industry owes miners a further six trillion rubles.
Thousands of miners returned to work in the Far East today following settlement of a three-week strike, said Boris Krivolapov, a spokesman for Russia's Primorskugol coal company. But some 30,000 miners in Russia's southern Rostov region are continuing their walkout.
Strike leaders met in Vladivostok yesterday with Yuri Malyshev, leader of the state-run coal company, Rusugol, and with Yuri Shafranik, Russia's fuel and energy minister.
Malyshev promisAug 8 20:11:14 afpd[9577]: afp_enumerate: stat BBBB.HTML: No such file or directory ed to pay a portion of backwages, the equivalent of some $8 million, within one week and the rest by the end of this year. Some miners have not received their wages for five months.