Workers from the Lead and Zinc Complex in Kardjali ready to stage protests in Sofia

"If the steelworkers from the Lead and Zinc Complex in Kardjali do not receive their overdue salaries by Friday, they will stage protests in Sofia," Ivanka Karakoleva from the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, said on Darik Radio. She said that the BGN 325 per capita which the employees of the Lead and Zinc Complex received was just a 'breath of fresh air' and stated that if the workers were not paid all their overdue money by the end of the week, they will first stage protests outside the office of the company that owns the enterprise - Intertrust Holding, and then - in front of the Parliament's building. The steelworkers initially intended to come to the capital city this week, but then decided to postpone the protests because of PM Boyko Borissov's promise. "We will let them hold the negotiations at ease but the protest continues," said Karakoleva. The tension has not calmed down. Today, the employees decided to block the ring road in front of the bus station in Kardjali from 16.30 hrs on Thursday, which will block the roads in all directions and not only those to the town of Haskovo. After that, a procession will start from the Vassil Levski monument which became the unofficial meeting place for the employees of the Lead and Zinc Complex.

According to Karakoleva, if there is no development in the direction of meeting the steelworkers' demands by Friday, protests will be staged in Sofia next week. "If there is no law to criminalise the offences of employers who do not pay the wages due to their employees, the interests of workers in other companies will also be harmed," said the syndicate's leader. The workers from the Lead and Zinc Complex in Kardjali have been protesting since the beginning of March because of their overdue wages and poor working conditions in the enterprise. Last week, the owner of the plant, Valentin Zahariev, said that money for the wages has been found but their actual payment depends on crediting banks because negotiations on the collaterals are still going on.

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