WARSAW, July 28 (Reuters) – PGG, Poland’s largest coal producer, began talks with unions on Tuesday about a package of mine closures and wage cuts, measures that the company said was designed to help weather the effects of the coronavirus crisis.
State news firm PAP reported that PGG could close the Ruda and Wujek mines, which employ a total of another 7,700 people and produce more than five million tons of coal consistent with the year. The state-controlled organization employs more than 40,000 people and consistently produces about 30 million tons of coal.
The PAP quoted PGG incumbent Tomasz Rogala, saying that before the start of the meeting, he hoped the talks would be “very, very difficult,” and quoted the industry’s union leader, Dominik Kolorz, as saying that “this plan is crazy. “.
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PGG has not yet revealed the main points of the restructuring plan, but industry resources told Reuters on Sunday that the government is seeking to particularly reduce coal production and close several mines. One source said annual PGG production would be reduced by more than 10%, but not as much as half.
PGG has been affected by declining demand for coal, declining and an increasing number of coronavirus infections, leading to the transient closure of some mines in June.
Moreover, Poland can no longer forget the European Union’s preference to reduce carbon emissions, which has made coal-based electricity generation more expensive due to higher carbon permit prices. At the same time, miners need to dig deeper to unload low-quality coal.
Wujek was the scene of one of the communist regime’s bloodiest manifestations and is a symbol of the nation’s ties to coal. In June, resources said Wujek would be one of the coal mines to be closed in the third quarter.
Union representatives said the publication of the plan could cause large protests through the miners.
Poland produces almost 80% of its electricity from coal and is the only EU member committed to the impartial carbon installation until 2050 (Agnieszka Barteczko report edited through David Holmes)
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