Akhtala Mining and Processing Plant Miners Strike: Demands Not Yet Met

For the 9th consecutive day, the miners of the Akhtala Mining and Processing Plant are on strike, demanding a wage increase and improved working conditions. Approximately 50 workers, toiling under high-risk underground conditions, gather at the company's gates waiting for their demands to be heard. They are avoiding speaking directly with reporters.

Environmental and human rights advocate Oleg Dulgarian shared their concerns and demands in an interview with Panorama.am. “The participants of the strike are highly specialized workers, namely drillers, who perform drilling and blasting in underground areas. This is an extremely heavy and dangerous job that involves significant risks. Therefore, it is natural that a person working under such conditions should be adequately compensated. However, according to the employees, there is a discrepancy between the work they perform and their paid wages,” Dulgarian said.

According to Dulgarian, negotiations have been taking place for several days, but they have yielded no results. Concurrently, the company has advertised for new drillers. There are no specific figures available regarding the wages received by the mine workers. Auroranews attempted to contact the Akhtala Mining and Processing Plant to clarify the situation, but our calls went unanswered. We also tried to reach out to the staff of the Lori regional governor's office, where we were told to submit questions regarding the strike at the Akhtala Mining and Processing Plant via written inquiry.