Russian gold miners go on hunger strike to protest wage arrears

More than 20 gold miners in the Zabaykalsky Krai town of Vershino-Darasunsky have announced a hunger strike to protest wage arrears following layoffs.

According to one woman participating in the strike, more than 500 workers were laid off earlier this summer, and not one of these employees has received their promised severance payment. The miners say they have already sent letters to the district attorney, to labor officials, and even to President Putin’s regional envoy, but they’ve received no response.

The local governor’s office says the wage arrears are an outrage by the mining company, and has promised to defend the miners’ interests.

In May 2017, Vershino-Darasunsky gold miners carried out an earlier protest against wage arrears, when 80 miners refused to leave one of the villages’ mines. The strike continued until Zabaykalsky Krai Governor Natalia Zhdanova personally intervened and the mine’s management promised to pay its workers back wages, at least partially.