1,000s of Greek miners protest likely loss of jobs

Thousands of workers employed at a Canadian-run gold mine in northern Greece have staged a demonstration in the Greek capital, Athens, in protest against a decision by the incumbent leftist government to revoke the company’s license.

An estimated 4,000 miners and other workers clad in fluorescent green vests staged the protest rally in Athens on Thursday. They waved flags, which read “Yes to mines, yes to growth,” and chanted slogans, forcing police to shut down major roads for hours.

“We will not negotiate our right for employment, for dignity,” the representatives of the workers said in a statement.

Mine workers fear they will lose their jobs because the ruling Syriza Party has accused Vancouver-based Eldorado Gold mining company of environmental and financial breaches and has revoked its license.

Eldorado Gold has invested $450 million in two Greek gold mines since 2012, and planned to invest another $700 million by 2017 in two more mines and a processing plant.

“We remain committed to the responsible development of our asset base in Greece and announced earlier this year that we plan to invest $310 million US on the development of Skouries and Olympias in 2015, which will generate additional jobs for the Greek people and taxes for the Greek government,” Eldorado Gold CEO Paul Wright said in a statement in February after the company’s license was revoked.

“However, the recent decision of the Ministry of Energy - if not reversed in a timely manner - may force Eldorado to reconsider its investment plans for Greece,” he added.

The company also said it did not believe the action was legal as it has already passed an environmental review process.

Greece is already suffering from economic problems, including unemployment, amid a severe debt crisis.

Greece’s debt stems from the 240-billion-euro bailout loan it received from its international creditors - the European Central Bank (ECB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the European Commission - to prevent bankruptcy in 2010 in the wake of the global financial crisis.

The new government in Athens has been engaged in negotiations with the troika of international lenders to renegotiate the terms of its multi-billion euro bailout.

On February 20, a tentative agreement to extend Greece’s bailout program by four months was reached during preparatory talks between Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde and Eurogroup chairman Jeroen Dijsselbloem.

Greece’s creditors are urging the country to cut pensions and go ahead with civil service layoffs and a number of major privatizations, which the government expressed its opposition to in January.

MP/HJL

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