RiTE UGLJEVIK EMOPLOYEES BACK TO WORK, COAL MINING RESUMED

BILEĆA, NOVEMBER 6 /SRNA/ – Republika Srpska Prime Minister Savo Minić has said today that, according to the information available to him, the employees of the Mine and Thermal Power Plant /RiTE/ "Ugljevik" have returned to work and that coal mining has resumed.

"One of the workers’ demands was the replacement of management, and that has been fulfilled. The Government of Republika Srpska has for some time been working on the transfer of the East Two field, which was already planned and is not related to this situation. That procedure is now in its final stage and should be completed in a few days," Minić told the press in Bileća.

The prime minister noted that it is to everyone’s detriment when work is completely halted and production stops.

"There must be workers’ rights, of course, but a minimum work process of about 30% should have been ensured so that the thermal power plant would not stop. It is good that these few days have at least been used for regular maintenance and cleaning," Minić said.

He announced the possibility of visiting Ugljevik tomorrow to show support to the workers.

"I spoke with the president /Milorad Dodik/, and since we have some events in Ugljevik tomorrow, if not both of us, at least one of us will go there to show support for everyone. We absolutely do not divide people. I think politics got involved here a bit, considering that I received information about some politicians showing up there to ‘solve the problem,’" Minić noted.

He has added that it is only a matter of days before the exploitation field is formally granted under concession to RiTE "Ugljevik."

Minić stressed that the power system of Republika Srpska must emerge from the crisis.

"We will have much more detailed information next week after the thematic session of the Government of Republika Srpska. You can see that since I became prime minister, I have been consistently pointing the finger at those responsible and demanding accountability from those in leading positions, as I asked recently for them to publicly respond," Minić said.

He emphasized that the miners at RiTE "Ugljevik" are not to blame for the current situation.

"We will not start with the miners, we will start from the top. We will determine why this situation arose, since there are both objective and subjective causes. You will be informed about that," Minić concluded.