Miners protest against shutting down mines

Employees from a Brzeszcze mine, remained underground after their shift ended on Wednesday evening to protest against government’s plan to close four Kompania Węglowa facilities which are losing the most money. Brzeszcze is on this list. The decision was a spontaneous one, according to trade union representatives. “I have received information that the next shift is going to do the same,” Stanisław Kłysz of the Solidarity Trade Union, informed. Two other mines, Bobrek-Centrum in Bytom and Sośnica-Makoszowy in Gliwice joined the protests on Thursday morning. The government's plenipotentiary for mining industry, Wojciech Kolalczyk  invited miners to talk in Warsaw on January 9. Labor unions declined the offer, Dominik Kolorz the President of Silesia Solidarity informed “The mine is still working, we’re focusing our efforts to make the miners safe. We provide them with food and basic sanitary facilities. The mine director has been contacting the protesters, offering dialog,” Kompania Węglowa spokesman Tomasz Głogowski said. In the interview for Polish Radio, Minister of Economy, Janusz Piechociński explained that restructuring the industry is necessary due to rising mining costs and cheap foreign coal on Polish market. Commenting on the protest in Brzeszcze, he stated that the alternative option for restructuring the sector is bankruptcy of Kompania Węglowa, the biggest Polish mining company.