1 July, 2019At its congress in 2017, IndustriALL Albanian affiliate SPMSH passed a resolution calling for an increase in pensions for underground workers, to bring them into line with those received by the military. Earlier this month, the resolution became national law.
In June, the Albanian government passed a new law on “supplementary financial treatment of workers who have worked in underground mines as well as workers of the oil, gas and metallurgical industry", effectively turning the congress resolution into national law.
Under the law, former miners who worked for the state or private sector for six years or more, will receive a substantial increase in their annual pension payments.
An additional 1 per cent will be paid to those who suffer a disability as a result of their former occupation.
300 miners who had not been paid for six months will now receive their wages in full.
“This new law is a major achievement. Not only is it a pay and pension victory for Albanian mine workers, but it is also a testament to union power and that when we organize we win,” says IndustriALL general secretary Valter Sanches.