from 30 years, former mine workers seek approval of "miner status"By politics has sidelined them. Numerous petitions launched by them have been archived. The promises remain, while their lives continue with the same difficulties.
On Thursday, October 9, a group of former miners, supported by the Together Movement and MP Redi Muçi, gathered again in front of Parliament, as the majority of MPs entered the session ignoring them.
"We worked our whole lives, and yet our wallets are empty!"
As the security guard opened the car, former Prime Minister Sali Berisha, again an MP and leader of the Democratic Party, automatically pointed two fingers up at the former miners, who were positioned at the entrance of the institution.
Between the replies and the calls "Go away, go away!" and several others who reminded him of the status, the former Prime Minister turned his back on the crowd, just as his former government and the current government have actually acted towards this group over the years.
Among the banners held by the former underground workers was the following: "We worked our whole lives, and yet our wallets are empty!", "Miner's status an electoral promise since 1991", apo "Boll made fun of the former miners".
"I broke the column in the mine, at the age of 22. Since then I have not received a single lek, compensation for the accident. Where is this state? Where is this parliament?" said Ali Plaka, President of the Association of Paraplegic and Tetraplegic Disabled People, at today's protest in front of the Parliament.
More than three thousand miners have been seeking the status for decades, as such legal protection would provide them with more social support, job security, increased wages, pensions, and healthcare.
In addition to uncompensated work injuries, the livelihoods of former miners have been further made difficult by inflation and the significant increase in the cost of living.
"Shame on the world, for a deputy to receive 4 thousand euros and a miner and pensioner to receive less than all of them, even though they worked underground or in a factory" said former miner Ymer Kadiolli.
Empty promises and dormant petitions
Protests of former miners launched Initially self-organized with a few members, somewhere between six and seven people, they were later structured in an organized form and since October 2023, they have been appearing before institutions time and again, mainly with the support of the Joint Movement.
In December 2020, the United Miners' Union of Bulqiza submitted a petition with 10,680 signatures to the Parliament on this issue, but four years later there has been no response.
The promises have been repeated over the years. In 2009, current Prime Minister Edi Rama, then in opposition, had promised its approval several times. But even though he has been leading the country since 2013, this promise remains unfulfilled.
In 2018, the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy, Damian Gjiknuri, declared that a draft was ready, but it was never presented. In the same year, Rama promised it again during a meeting with miners, but again, nothing changed.
Earlier, in 2017, the former Socialist Movement for Integration MP in the Dibra district, Përparim Spahiu, had presented a proposal similar to those of the miners, but which the socialist majority rejected on the grounds that it harmed the pension scheme.
He completed his master's studies in the department of Journalism and Communication Sciences at the University of Tirana. She has been reporting for more than four years in Citizens.al on issues of culture, urban development, feminism, etc. She is also a contributor to other local and foreign online media, and has worked in the editing of various materials. She is the author of the podcast "Pezull" on Citizens.al and is engaged as a coordinator of projects related to the empowerment of young journalists and migration issues.
