Bulgarian miners protest to demand job security
Posted November 29, 2018 7:18 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SOFIA, Bulgaria — Hundreds of Bulgarian coal miners and energy workers are protesting to demand government guarantees that their jobs will be preserved amid bids by the European Union to close mines and tackle climate change.
Buses carried protesters from across Bulgaria for the march in downtown Sofia. Over 2,000 demonstrators chanted “victory” as they marched to the headquarters of the EU offices in Bulgaria and rallied there Thursday.
Bulgarian miners say the EU’s timeframe for closing down coal mining and coal extraction is too short and argue it should not come at the expense of the bloc’s poorest and most carbon-dependent regions.
Union leader Dimitar Manolov said 150,000 jobs are at risk should the biggest coal mines and energy plants in southeastern Bulgaria close down.
The Associated Press
