Thousands of Miners Locked Themselves in Mines in Protest

Miners of Turkish Coal Institute in Zonguldak have started a lock-in protest against government's draft bill that prospectively opens the institute's mines to be privatised.

[mks_dropcap style="letter" size="52" bg_color="#ffffff" txt_color="#000000"]T[/mks_dropcap]urkish Grand National Assembly's Planning & Budgetary Commission has accepted the article 58 of draft bill package that foresees privatisation of coal mines currently operated by Turkish Coal Institute in Zonguldak. General Mining Workers Syndicate (GMIS) had reacted against the draft bill last week with a press statement. Miners today have started a lock-in protest as a reaction to the draft bill. The miners who were working the 00.00-08.00 shift have not come out to surface despite their shift is over. Next shift's miners have started waiting outside the entrance of the mine. GMIS chair Ahmet Demirci stated that the syndicate has not taken any decision of strike but the miners have self-organized this action. Syndicate has held an extra-ordinary assembly and evaluated the current situation and is supposed to announce further plans.