8 Day Strike at Bulgarian State Mines Ends

Talks between employers and trade unions at Bulgaria's Maritsa Iztok coal mines ended successfully, with the parties agreeing, putting an end to a major strike that started last Sunday.

Miners received bonuses, and the Maritsa Iztok company agreed to settle trade disputes with other firms, that allegedly prevented it to pay higher remunerations to its workers.

Talks started at 2 pm Saturday to continue through the evening, ending at 5 am Sunday morning.

An earlier round of talks a week ago had failed, prompting some 97% of the coal mine workers to go on strike.

The Maritsa Iztok mines supply coal to the Maritsa Iztok power plants, major producers of electricity in Bulgaria.

This has prompted the country to stop exporting electricity as of Saturday and to put back-up energy capacities into function.

The State Agency for National Security (DANS) even went as far as to claim that the strike presented a potential threat to national security.

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