Hundreds Of Miners Wage Underground Protest

Hundreds of miners are protesting underground in the Kandilli mine in Zonguldak province, decrying lack of agreements between the state and the company operating the mine that has resulted in the mine not producing coal for six months.

The HEMA mining company, which is affiliated with Hattat Holding, has been unable to reach a deal with the state regarding royalty agreements. The protests went into their second day on Friday.

“We want to work. We know this mine is safe and profitable. The big boss [the state] couldn't reach an agreement with the little boss [Hattat Holding] and this is why we are not able to work,” said one worker that spoke with the BBC.

The mining industry has been all over the news in Turkey throughout 2014, as deadly accidents have underlined the safety crisis and poor working conditions that many miners are forced to deal with. In May, an explosion in the Soma mine resulted in the deaths of 301 miners, accounting for the worst workplace disaster in the history of the Turkish Republic.

A collapse in a Zonguldak mine earlier this month claimed the life of one worker, while another Zonguldak mine accident in May resulted in the death of a miner. Despite poor safety conditions and deadly accidents, Turkey's notorious coal mines maintain their popularity as workplaces.

Huge demand for a recent job listing at a mine in coal-rich Zonguldak province proved that many still want a job working in the mining industry. The state-run Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises (TTK) accepted applications for 162 positions at the Zonguldak coal mine. By the time the nine-day application period was over, 4,269 had expressed interest. The highest number of applications among the 4,269 was for underground services at the Zonguldak mine with 1,128.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)