Under the walls of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, workers of the State Enterprise "Vostochny Ore Mining and Processing Plant" are protesting, who demand to pay off the one and a half month wage arrears and restore the full-fledged work of the enterprise. reports The Independent Trade Union miners of Ukraine (NPGU).
The protesters conveyed their demands to the representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
As a reminder, since December 7, due to a lack of funds, all divisions of the SE "Vostok GOK" have been idle, the production process has been stopped.
According to NPGU, this could lead to the bankruptcy of the SE "Vostok GOK" in early 2021 and to the destruction of the country's only enterprise for the extraction of uranium ore and the production of uranium oxide concentrate.
In addition, the NPGU warned that a downtime could lead to an environmental disaster in the region where there are three uranium mines. According to the trade union, the miners have been in conditions of constant salary delays for more than a year.
Alexander Zovva, chairman of the trade union committee of the Novokonstantinovskaya mine at Vostok GOK, said that the plant is officially idle until December 14, but there is no guarantee that work will resume after that.
VostGOK requires an increase in the purchase price of uranium concentrate and support this with an additional agreement with NNEGC.
“The terms of cooperation with NNEGC“ Energoatom ”are very complicated, they cannot be called constructive or friendly. And this affects not only the timely payment of wages, but also the financial condition of the enterprise as a whole ", - declared acting Anton Bendik, General Director of VostGOK State Enterprise.
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Vostochny Ore Mining and Processing Plant is one of 28 uranium mining centers in the world, among which it is in the top ten, and is also the largest in Europe. Vostochny Ore Mining and Processing Plant is the only enterprise in Ukraine that ensures the extraction of natural uranium and the production of its oxide concentrate.
The two operating uranium mines of the plant are, in terms of their energy equivalent, equivalent to 60 coal mines, in other words, one third of the entire Donbass.
VostGOK also produces sulfuric acid and mining equipment. The plant provides transportation services (auto and rail), repair and construction, research and development, communication services, etc.
