FBiH Government Secures Funds for RMU Zenica Miners' May Salary, EP BiH and Mine Must Find Own Solutions for Other Payments

(Patria) - The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Federal Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry have secured funds and found a legal basis for the payment of the outstanding May salary to the workers of RMU Zenica.

„Years of accumulated problems that were swept under the rug and giving a false impression of successful operations have resulted in millions in debt for the mines, primarily RMU Zenica. However, this government solves problems, it does not make them bigger,“ said the Minister of Energy, Mining and Industry of FBiH, Vedran Lakić, reminding that the Zenica mine was supposed to go bankrupt or be closed a few years ago.

He also noted that the Management of Elektroprivreda BiH has taken care of 199 workers from that mine and paid 42 million KM from its budget to start the process of just transition.

„The government is here to provide assistance, but for the payment of future salaries in the current year, the Managements of EP BiH and RMU Zenica will have to find solutions from other sources of financing, such as the sale of non-perspective, immovable and movable assets, and the like,“ said Minister Lakić.

All mines will have to focus on systematization and optimization of operations in the coming period in order to increase coal production, preserve the entire power system, and ensure its stable and secure functioning.

Otherwise, the miners gathered again this morning protesting the delay in salaries for May, June, and July.

The closure plan for the Zenica Coal Mine envisages that up to 350 workers will be retired. Some will be reassigned to the Kakanj and Han Bila mines near Travnik, and some will, with adequate severance pay, be sent to the employment bureau.

The miners are also dissatisfied with the slowness of the procedure, i.e., the implementation of the Law on the Closure of RMU Zenica, which will end coal production in this city after more than 140 years.

The Zenica mine was opened on May 5, 1880, when the “Barbara” shaft, or “Old Shaft,” was opened. The “Stranjani” shaft was closed in 2019, and the “Mošćanica” and “Rača” open-pit mines much earlier.

The gathered miners have also announced the possibility of protests in front of the FBiH Government building in Sarajevo, where they will bring their families.