Miners go on strike for better conditions

EREĞLİ, Zonguldak - Anatolia News Agency

The miners and their families strike in the province of Zonguldak in Turkey’s Black Sea region demanding better working conditions and higher wages.

Turkish miners in the northwestern province of Zonguldak went on strike yesterday, claiming that their employers have refused to improve working conditions.

Some 800 miners living in Gökçeler village outside Ereğli who protested against their poor working conditions four years ago took to the streets again yesterday with their children and wives. 

Miners struggle to survive

“I am 3.5 months pregnant and my husband makes 700 Turkish Liras a month working in the mine,” said Ezgi Yavuzarslan, adding that her husband’s salary was unfair given his work.

“We pay around 440 liras for coal to heat our house in addition to 200 liras for rent,” she said, adding that her family barely managed to survive. “Two miners died in a work accident here recently, we need authorities to back these miners protesting.”

The miners’ salaries range between 700-1,000 liras, according to protesters speaking to Anatolia news agency. 

The miners are vowing to continue their work stoppage if conditions are not improved and salaries are not increased, said Ayfer Güneş, the wife of one of the village’s miners.