Vitaly Budko, leader of the Independent Coal Workers' Union, said his union had no political demands, but intended to "demonstrate the solidarity and strength of miners to convince the government to listen to us."
The strikers who Budko said comprise about 80 percent of all Russian miners at 239 of the total 299 coal producers are demanding that the government pay back wages for December and January.
They also demand that the government approve 1994 budget subsidies for the industry at 11.9 trillion rubles ($7 billion). The Finance Ministry has so far agreed to allocate over 5 trillion rubles which would only cover half of expenses for social benefits and compensation of coal prices, according to the Russian Coal Company which is in charge of state shares of the industry.
The strike is the first labor protest in the coal industry conducted jointly by two rival unions, the Independent Coal Workers' Union which claims to represent about 1 million workers, and the smaller but more militant Miners' Independent Union.
In the largest coal region of Kuzbass in Siberia, 26 mines and open cuts continued to excavate coal Tuesday, but they refused to ship it to consumers, Budko said.
Budko's union decided Monday to reduce the stoppage to one day from two days planned initially. "This is winter and we don't want to hurt anybody too much," Budko said, adding that some enterprises depend on constant supplies of coal.
Budko said the government had transferred on Monday another 70 billion rubles to some mines toward its 1993 debt.In an interview with Interfax, Budko said the Labor Minister Georgy Melikyan had called him to express support for all the demands made by his union.
He also said the protest would do no long-term economic damage because currently about 17 million tons of coal is stored in warehouses, which is 7 million tons above the usual level.
Although prices for coal are still heavily subsidized by the state, many enterprises have been unable to afford it after a price hike in summer when President Boris Yeltsin removed state control over coal prices.
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