Miners in Montenegro end week-long strike

Podgorica. Sixty miners in Montenegro's largest bauxite mine have ended an eight-day strike after demands that wage arrears be paid were met, one of them said Tuesday. "We came out of the pit and got written guarantees from Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic that our demands have been met," miner Ratko Batricevic told AFP by telephone. The miners locked themselves up in the pit of the Zupa mine near the northwestern town of Niksic, some 70 kilometers (45 miles) from the capital Podgorica, on December 29, demanding payment of their wages. They decided to go down to the pit after the majority owner of the mine -- Central European Aluminium Company (CEAC) of EN Plus Group of Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska -- said only two of five wages could be paid. The mine currently employes 1,200 people. It was expected that 700 employees would accept severance pay to voluntarily leave the company. Zupa mine provides bauxite for the biggest Montenegrin aluminium smelter KAP, which is also owned by CEAC. Union leader Ratko Radulovic said the mine had not worked for a year due to KAP's lower needs. KAP has been in trouble since last year owing to the global financial crisis and the fall of aluminium prices on global markets, halving annual production from 120,000 to 60,000 tonnes. Deripaska's company in November reached a deal with the Montenegrin government to share the ownership of KAP to revitalise the plant.