Twenty miners from the Zenica Miners' Union went on a hunger strike on behalf of all the miners, demanding the payment of earned salaries, safety at work and that their company bank accounts be unblocked, N1's Aleksandra Tolj-Ruzic reported Thursday, and as she did, a miner collapsed. See the video below.

Elvedin Avdic, the head of the Old Pit Union, said that no one addressed them, except their union representatives.

“Our demands are that our bank account be completely unblocked. We cannot work and even if we would like to work, we're unable to retire without the bank account being completely unblocked. Our salaries must be paid and 36 of our pensioners need to be able to retire. We have no other requests. Just that, let them unblock us. On this occasion, I would like to apologize to the citizens of Zenica, because it is now attributed to us that there is no heating and that there will be none at all. We worked hard over the past month when our account was blocked. We can no longer work this way and we will not stoop any lower than this,“ he noted.

The miners told N1 that they receive minimal wages between 750 to 800 Bosnian marks (up to €400) adding that the payments are late. They have not received a hot meal for December yet they added.

“It's difficult for us to endure the hunger strike. It started yesterday at 6 pm. It's hard. We won't give up, we have nowhere to go. We invite all our colleagues who want to truly join us tomorrow, at 7 o'clock in the general strike, to come with us,” Avdic said.

Speaking about the safety aspect, he added that they lost two lives last month. The union representative reiterated that they are demanding full safety and there is no safety unless their bank account is unblocked.

At the moment of reporting, one of the miners collapsed due to hunger strike. N1’s Tolj-Ruzic reported that he soon gained consciousness and was taken by the ambulance.

Dvadeset rudara rudnika u #Zenica stupilo je u štrajk glađu. Intervenisala je i Hitna pomoć nakon što je jednom od njih danas pozlilo ispred rudnika pic.twitter.com/LkZZoOo351

— TV N1 Sarajevo (@N1infoSA) February 11, 2021

The Tax Administration of Bosnia’s Federation entity blocked the accounts of Zenica and Breza brown coal mines on December 13, 2020, due to unpaid taxes and contributions.

In order for the December salary to be paid, the Administration unblocked their accounts on January 22, but only for a day.

After blocking the accounts once more, the Zenica miners did not receive their compensation for a hot meal on February 5, after which they went on a strike on February 8.