On 18 May eighty-five coal miners in northwest Turkey went down their mine and started a hunger strike to demand that their wages, which have been outstanding since the start of the year, be paid. Even if their action is unheard of, the situation of unpaid wages reflects problems that are recurring in a fragmented sector comprising hundreds of oftentimes unprofitable companies.
With no wages paid since January 2016, some 120 miners working for the Balçınlar Madencilik Ltd Şirketi mining company in the Black Sea Turkish province of Zonguldak decided on 04 April to stop work. However the strike action had no effect on management that is currently in the throes of a legal wrangle that actually has nothing to do with the dire financial situation of the company but which led to the receivers coming in on 13 April.
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