TIRANA, April 16 /ATA/- Prime Minister Edi Rama assured the miners on Monday that they will be granted the status within this term of office.
“In the first term of office, we promised to lower the retirement age for miners and we did it, we promised to enhance mine safety and we did it, we pledged sweeping wage raise in this sector and we delivered on our promise. In this term we have promised to grant the status to the miner and we will back up our words with meaningful actions,” PM said.
Rama accompanied by ministers Arben Ahmetaj and Damian Gjiknuri held a meeting with one of the founders of the miners union “Janar 1991,” a retiree to date, who asked to be briefed on the progress of the miner’s status project.
“We have requested that the minimum pension for miners should be no less than 131% of the official minimum wage, while the minimum wage in mines should be no less than 200% of the minimum official wage. Our demands include lowering of retirement age and treating with maximum pension the households of miners who have died in the mine,” Fiqiri Xibri said.
According to PM, there is dialogue and interaction between the govt. and miners’ unions.
“We have made significant steps forward, although a lot of work remains to be done in this sector. To date it has a different face. Serious investments have brought about positive changes to the benefit of miners in terms of payment. The investments being made have paved the way for enrichment of minerals in the country rather than exporting them,” PM said.
He said that the govt. has launched pension reform which has opened up a new prospect for all miners who are to retire after its implementation.
Unfortunately, many pensioners who have retired before our reform have to suffer the consequences of the lack of vision and courage to reform this system and have no chance of surpassing the ceiling that was imposed on everyone regardless of their working years and contributions.
According to him, to date there is a completely reformed pension system in place and any retiree is treated differently because his pension is based on working years and social insurance contribution.
PM said that the cost of these proposals will be the topic of discussions between trade unionists and Finance and Energy ministers.
“The approach to status, unless it is regulated, risks becoming a threat for the outcome itself. We need your support to purge the lists from those pretending to have worked in the mine, but do not deserve to be part of this process.”
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