GORUBSO-MADAN FACES TERMINATION OF MINING CONCESSION

The GORUBSO-Madan concession was signed in 1999 and is valid for a period of 35 years

The Economy, Energy and Tourism Ministry has sent a 30-days notice of termination of the mining concession of GORUBSO-Madan, Deputy Minister Delyan Dobrev told journalists in Parliament on Wednesday.

The company has defaulted on its concession contract by delaying the payment of wages and social security for several months now, and failing to ensure adequate work conditions. The miners have been protesting for over a week now and the mine is inoperable because power supply to some of the mining facilities has been rationed over unpaid bills.

Dobrev said that if the mining company pays the social security and wages owed to its workers, the government may suspend the contract termination procedure. Even after all requirements are met, the company will be monitored closely by the Ministry and the General Labour Inspectorate to make sure the crisis is not repeated.

Dobrev stressed that the concession's termination is a government decision and not a unilateral act by the Minister.

The Deputy Minister is optimistic that there will be investor interest in the concession. He believes the best option is for the current concession holder to pay up the dues or negotiate the assumption of obligations with a different investor.

If things come to the concession's termination, it could be appealed, and even if the termination becomes effective, a new concession award procedure has to be launched. This takes time, and there is danger for the people to be left without work. The company's obligations to its employees will remain, and they will not lose their social security and wages, Dobrev said.

The GORUBSO-Madan concession was signed in 1999 and is valid for a period of 35 years.

EVN Bulgaria, the power distribution company in the south-central and southeastern parts of Bulgaria, said on Wednesday that it continues to limit the power supply to GORUBSO-Madan on a new schedule, because of the unpaid electricity bills. For safety considerations, EVN has informed GORUBSO-Madan's management and all competent institutions about its actions.

The leaders of Podkrepa Confederation of Labour and the miners' chapter of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions, Konstantin Trenchev and Pencho Tokmakchiev, visited the protesting miners in Madan, Southern Bulgaria on Wednesday. "Your work should be paid, best by a new owner," Trenchev told the miners.

GORUBSO-Madan's Executive Director, Subi Kiuchukov said that the company will contest the concession termination notice. "We want to continue working, to defend our right to use the concession as agreed under the signed contracts," Kiuchukov said. According to the Executive Director, work will continue throughout this 30 days period, in order to fulfill all the commitments made during last week's meeting with Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov. Kichukov said the company will take out a bank loan to honour its commitments.