In B&H, December 21st is marked as Miners' Day. The mining sector and its stability are an important backbone of energy independence, they say from B&H authorities. Sinan Husić, President of the Trade Union of Miners in FB&H, in an interview for "Dnevni Avaz" points out that this date has great historical weight for miners in B&H.
- This year we are celebrating 100 years since the Husino rebellion. Strong messages were sent by the miners of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1920 to the Yugoslav, European and world public, and, interestingly, they largely correspond to the demands of the miners today - he states.
However, Husić emphasizes that the position of miners in our country has improved incomparably in 100 years.
- In 1920, the miner worked for a daily wage that at that time was equal to the price of a kilogram of potatoes or half a kilogram of flour. For one not so high quality coat they had to set aside one annual salary. So, when we look at these data, it is certain that the life of miners today is much better, that the conditions in which we work today are much safer and more humane - says Husić.
But despite this, the president of the Miners' Union emphasizes that there are still many areas where the life of miners needs to be improved.
- We have outdated systematizations and organizations, we have been pointing to that for the last three years. It stifles our production. We are threatened by a convulsive struggle for the survival of mines in the Federation of B&H. We see that coal is no longer such a desirable energy source. Enormous pressures are being exerted from certain international circles. It is very important for us, especially from the Tuzla Canton, what will happen with Block 7 of the Tuzla Thermal Power Plant, because without that block Kreka definitely becomes a small and insignificant mine - Husić points out.
- During the pandemic, we all together from all mines in FB&H gave a promise to the public that we will provide sufficient quantities of coal for the electricity sector to function at full capacity against needs. We adhered to all measures until we got to work, because we were aware of the fact that, when we start performing all work tasks, in mines with underground and surface coal mining it is not possible to apply these protective means because they are simply too gentle, but also prevent us and disable our full function. For now, we can say that we did not have a significant number of infected or deaths in order to jeopardize the continuity of the production process - says Husić.
