Zenica miners decide to leave Raspotocje pit following eight-day protest

The miners had been protesting over unpaid wages in recent days. They last received their wages for April of this year. On Monday, members of the RMU Zenica Trade Union Main Board joined the nine miners who had been underground since the beginning of the protest, bringing the total number of miners in the mine to 13.

The Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry of the BiH's Federation entity Government confirmed in a statement that funds for the wages had been secured and that they should be paid once the funds become operational. However, the miners had demanded a specific payment date as a condition for ending the protest.

Zenica miners are owed two wages, for May and June, while the deadline for payment of the July wage is August 25.

At the beginning of the protest, one of the miners' demands was also the right to validate their health insurance cards, which, after being unavailable for around 10 days, can temporarily be validated again from Friday until September 6.

The Health Insurance Institute of the Zenica-Doboj Canton expects that, by that deadline, part of the outstanding debts owed by three mines belonging to the Elektroprivreda BiH Group will be paid.

The debts exceed 175 million KM, or more than half of the institute's annual budget, leaving it unable to implement all of its insured patients' treatment programs in the canton.

During the protest, teams at the Zenica mine continued to carry out regular and mandatory drainage and degassing operations, as required by the FBiH Mining Law.