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Mining pirates trouble breathing

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Protest Demonstration in Qajaran: Combine Workers Demanding Rise in Salary

EcoLur

Today, on 10 May, the workers of Zangezour Copper and Molybdenum Combine in Qajaran Town, Syunik Region, have organized a protest demonstration. They demanded from the administration to raise their salaries.

In his interview with EcoLur, a Qajaran resident said that the workers didn't succeed to meet with the combine administration in any way. On behalf of the combine administration, the workers were promised to meet tomorrow  - in the morning of 11 May.

'After Nikol Pashinyan's election as a Prime Minister, people stopped fearing and started complaining. It's already 6 months they should have raised the salaries, but haven't done it. As far as I know, the combine doesn't operate now. But it's not the workers who have refused to work, but the administration has stopped the operation of the combine. Let them do it, anyway, we are living in a miserable condition and lost in debts. We earn only 200,000-250,000 AMD, but they earn millions. We won't work and won't get richer,' Qajaran resident said.

He mentioned that they incur enormous environmental and health damage because of the operation of Qajaran mine and combine. 'We can't breathe because of their emissions: even grass has gone darker, while there is molybdenum flowing across all the Voghji River. We have serious health problems: both the elderly and the young are ill, and all this is because of heavy metals,' the resident complained.

18:46 May 10, 2018