For almost a month, the miners of Spaç have come out of the underground to protest for their rights, which have been hidden for years by the darkness of the galleries. Exhausted from working long hours for 30 Euros a day, the miners are demanding the legitimization of their union for better working conditions and safety.
"All the workers who go to the hospital have blocked lungs, silicosis, and all sorts of other problems," says Kastriot Prenga, one of the Spaç miners.
About 150 kilometers further south, in the Marinza oil field in Fier, another battle is being waged by oil workers from the Bankers Petroleum company. On hunger strike for two weeks, the oil workers are also demanding decent wages and minimum working conditions amid the daily poisons released by oil.
“Not just me, but all of us have phenols in our blood. You’ve been working here for four or five years, everyone has phenols in their blood,” says Sotiraq Dhimo, one of the striking oil workers. “The company does our own tests and comes out all right,” he said in disbelief.
Albania is a country with rich mineral and hydrocarbon resources, but has failed for decades to transform them into a source of prosperity for its citizens. Exploited for years through controversial concessions, the natural resources seem to have become a curse for extractive industry workers.
In the Spaç mine, this is the monthly diary of a miner. There are 36 working days, because they often work 16 hours in the gallery to supplement a dignified salary for their family. Accidents in the mine are also numerous, but protesters say that most of them go unreported.
Dritan Lleshi, head of the miners' union, says that in recent years, many of the incidents have been manipulated.
“The tradition of this company has been to ask miners to say that we were injured outside the workplace, so that it is not recorded as an incident at work,” Lleshi tells BIRN. “Look, this colleague here had an accident recently, a stone fell on him,” he added, pointing to miner Lekë Gjergji.
"I escaped easily from God with the stone that fell on me in the gallery," says Gjergji, adding that the company has marked the days of the report as working days.
Tete Albania, which manages the Spaç copper mine through a concession, denies the allegations and is resisting the recognition of the miners' union. In a written response, the company told BIRN that it offers the highest standards of safety protocols, working conditions and wages above the market average.
"Documents proving representation must be submitted as part of the request to start negotiations. This was made clear and requested by representatives of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation during our mediation meeting with representatives of the Confederation and such documents have not yet been submitted," Tete Albania stated.
The miners complain that the company is retaliating with illegal dismissals, while insisting that they will not give up their rights.
"We think it is a legal right to have a union and a collective agreement, so that we are protected," said Lleshi, elected as the leader of the Union.
"We have never felt protected. Specifically, now we feel abandoned by the state, because apparently, it has sold us all its mineral wealth," he added.
Unlike the miners in Spaç, the oil workers in Marinza have a union and collective labor contracts, but they were forced to go on a hunger strike because the company does not respect the agreements, according to them.
Currently, the Bankers Petroleum company is being investigated by the Prosecutor's Office for a 20-year fraud scheme, which is suspected of causing millions of euros in damage to the state budget. Informed about the large differences in salaries among the company's managers, the oil workers say they will not withdraw from the strike until their demands are met.
"The company has stated that we have no possibility of increasing the salary fund for employees. But in reality, that is not the case, because what we have asked for for the 400 Albanian employees is the salary of a Chinese person," said Dritan Shahu, head of the oil workers' union, referring to the company's foreign managers.
"It emerged from the Prosecution's wiretaps that he receives 850 thousand euros per year. That's what we are asking for for 400 people," he added.
Bankers Petroleum claims to offer good wages, bonuses, and health coverage to all its employees and considers the strikers' demands to be unfounded and unfounded.
But oil workers consider this reaction an insult.
"This is absurd, it's an insult," says petroleum engineer Eduard Mita.
“I was born and raised here in Marinza and I want my children to grow up in my country…. We are determined to go all the way, no matter what,” he added.
In their battle for safety and dignity, extractive industry workers are seeking the intervention of state institutions to resolve disputes – disappointed that their demands have so far fallen on deaf ears.
"We say with voice and image that we have these problems and there is no reaction. When will they be remembered, when will not a single human foot remain here," asks Shah.
For the chairman of the Together Movement, Arlind Qori, extractive industry workers suffer the consequences of corrupt contracts and the lack of unions that fight for their safety, health, and rights at work.
"What makes the case of the oilmen and miners special is the fact that this is about investments that have seized public property. So, oil and minerals are the property of the Albanian people and the workers are the last to benefit from this wealth," said Qori, adding that the only beneficiaries are the concessionaires and the political officials who have granted them these concessions over the years. /BIRN/
