Biočki stan pit workers blocked the Seoca mine in Župa Nikšička, which includes the pit, because they were told that they would lose their jobs on December 31. There are 88 workers in question.
"We received information from the current employer that he will no longer continue the work because Uniprom Metali is not satisfied with the performance of the works. For the second time, we end up at the Labor Bureau. The culprit is clear. The masks have fallen. Uniprom Metali sends us to the Bureau for the second time. They ostracized the Poles, now the New Bauxites. How much longer", said worker Igor Krulanović.
The exploitation of ore in Biočki Stan was resumed in the middle of this year, after more than a year of interruption. business-technical cooperation.
"They decided not to talk to the representatives of Uniprom Metali, but only to Veselin Pejović. We expect him to come to Seoc and address the workers," said Krulanović.
According to him, they were told that the company Uniprom metals is not interested in the exploitation of 20.000 tons of ore, and that the Turkish company allegedly promised them the exploitation of 25 to 40.000 tons.
"So far, we have produced 20 tons per month, which is normal production. The new Bauxites were doing completely normal production, and the safety of the workers and the conditions were brought in a proper way. Uniprom Metali entered into negotiations with the Turkish company that operates the rough system in the Đurakov mine until they are now working here, and the owners of New Bauxite were forced to sell the machines. According to unofficial information, the Turkish company promised them production of 25 to 40 thousand tons per month. We must not allow it, it is the end of the mine and the shortening of our working life," Krulanović said.
"Zeta Mine" is a Turkish company with which Uniprom Metali plans to sign an agreement on technical and business cooperation for the Seoc mine. It is a company that carries out exploitation at the surface mine Đurakov do in Župa Nikšićka.
Krulanović and the workers invited the Minister of Energy and Mining Saša Mujović, the Municipality of Nikšić and the local community to get involved in solving the problem.
"We had a conversation with the representatives of Uniprom metal and the Turkish company, and they flatly rejected our requests. Our demands were that 88 workers receive a permanent solution and that production be limited to 22 thousand tons. These are requirements for the welfare of the workers, because our goal is to work for as long a period as possible, and not as happened with all the mines in Župa. There is still this pit, which is the heart of the mine. The time has come to rip out the heart, but we are telling them that we will not allow it," said Krulanović.
If Veselin Pejović does not come to Seoca by December 31, the workers said that they have prepared a surprise for the company Uniprom metals, not wanting to say what kind of surprise it is.
One of the founders of Novi Boksite, Ivan Ivanović, said that he will terminate the contract with the concessionaire.
"They were not satisfied with our work and we were told that they have found a subcontractor who will do this work better and will provide an opportunity for all employees to work. We received an offer from Zeta Mine to sell them machines, which we accepted. The contract has not been signed yet with them," he added.
Uniprom metals: The contract was terminated due to a series of irregularities and non-compliance with the project
The company Uniprom metals confirmed that they terminated the contract with the company Novi Boksiti by mutual agreement due to, as they pointed out, several irregularities and non-compliance with the mining project, which the inspector continuously found in the work of the mentioned company.
"There is a mining project, certified by the state, and ore exploitation must be carried out according to this project. Any deviation and non-compliance with this project is subject to criminal liability. A mining inspector comes every month and controls the work on the exploitation of red bauxite ore from the Biočki stan pit, as well as compliance with the mining project. If there are any irregularities, the mining inspector gives a deadline by which you must eliminate those irregularities according to the valid mining project. After several checks, under the responsibility of the company Novi Boksiti, irregularities were found each time and considering that they have not been removed even to this day, Uniprom Metali terminated the contract by mutual agreement", states the reply of the company Uniprom Metali.
They add that they work exclusively according to the law and regulations on mining and that they do not want to deviate from that, and that this is the main reason for the mutual termination of the contract.
"The minimum quantities in the Biočki stan pit are 330.000 tons per year according to the concession agreement. Since 2016, when Uniprom Metali opened the Biočki Stan pit, that amount has never been reached. "According to the approved mining project, 500.000 tons are planned annually, where, in proportion to the increased production, the portion of the concession fee that belongs to the Municipality of Nikšić and the State of Montenegro is increased," reads the answer.
They state that the company Novi Boksiti exploited a total of 127.189 tons from June to the end of December, as well as that the previous subcontractor, Bumech Montenegro, left a prepared work site with 800 meters of excavation corridors.
"The Novi Bauxiti company did not perform preparatory work through the limestone, which was their obligation according to the project, but only excavated the prepared ore. Everything was stated in the reports of the supervising engineer and they were repeatedly warned that they had to start the preparatory work, which was not respected by them even to this day, and we had to terminate the contract", Uniprom metals state.
Along with the answers, they also sent the minutes of the supervising engineer, the decisions of the mining inspector on the irregularities that were found during the work of the subcontractor Novi Boksiti, and photos in the Biocki Stan pit, which, they claim, show the irregularities pointed out by the mining inspector.
"After the termination of the contract with Bumech Montenegro, 50 workers lost their jobs. Regardless of the fact that Uniprom metals had no obligation towards them, we paid 450 euros each to their families and to them for five months. Honestly, we don't know of a private company in the world that does this. Of course, the workers who then showed their gratitude by sending thank-you notes for everything done, this morning, some of those same workers, blocked the work of Uniprom metals. We believe that this is also a way of gratitude. To everyone's face. "Certainly, on January 3, all workers will be individually invited for an interview, after which, in relation to the conditions they meet, as well as those they had in the company Novi Bauxiti, we will open jobs for those who want to work," Uniprom said. metals
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