Bulgaria: The Blockades of the Protesting Energy Workers and Miners continue for the Seventh Day in a row

Seventh day of blockades of miners and energy workers. After the approval of the energy agreement by the parliament, the dissatisfaction among some of the protesters remained and they decided to continue with the blockades.

The "Trakia" highway near Stara Zagora, "Prokhoda na Republikata", as well as the road Galabovo-Radnevo, Radnevo - Nova Zagora and the main road Ruse-Svilengrad, in the area of the village of Glavan, remain closed.

Only the power workers from TPP Bobov dol, Dupnitsa and Pernik stopped their protests. After the agreement was approved by parliament, they lifted the blockades on the "Struma" highway.

However, their colleagues from "Trakia" accused them of treason and refused to release traffic near Stara Zagora. Their main demand is the withdrawal of the Territorial Plans for a just transition and new negotiations on the points of the agreement.

"The blockade will not fall today, as the meeting with the government in Sofia was a complete circus. We do not trust the authorities, we have been lied to many times. We want specific solutions. The territorial plan should be withdrawn from the European Commission and our demands should be included in the document. They are trying to bring disunity between miners and energy workers, but we are not giving in. The problem is not only regional. It is a national problem, because if the government does not make the right decision, we will all suffer," said Georgi Gospodinov, representative of the CITUB* branch in the "Maritsa-Iztok" mine.
*Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria

"I am disappointed by what is being said on national television. It is a shame to call each other traitors. The people who raised the barricade of 'Struma' are responsible for themselves," said Yancho Petrov, from the trade unions of the Troyanovo-Sever mine.

Protesters at "Prohoda na Republikata" announced that they will stay until their colleagues at "Trakia" protest.

"It was harder for us to spend the night because of the low temperatures, but we are staying to support our fellow miners," said one of the protesters.

According to the participants in the protests, concerns about job losses remain, despite the agreement reached with the government. It remains unclear whether the territorial plans that have already been submitted to the European Commission can be changed. If the workers retreat from their positions at the pass "Prohoda na Republikata", miners will come in their place to continue the blockades.

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