Romanian miners threaten to start strike on January 10

Over 30,000 Romanian employees in the mining and energy sectors threatened to go on full-blown strike starting January 10 if power company Electra is not set up and negotiations to create new jobs and prevent collective layoffs in the two sectors are not initiated. Unionists in the mining and energy sectors said employees are displeased that the protocol signed with the Economy Ministry on April 14, 2010, regarding the setting up of state-run company Electra by December 31, 2010 was not observed. Unionists also protest over not having a mining and energy strategy for 2011-2025. Unionists pointed out that the national energy system has been sabotaged by implementing strategies that will result in sacking 40,000 employees in the mining and energy sectors starting 2013 and 6,000 others starting next year. They also stressed that the measures to be applied will hike electricity prices by 30% in the next five years. Mediafax