More miners joins Mittal Steel Temirtau strike

Moscow, Sep 29: Miners of Saranskaya mine today joined the strike by staff of the Mittal Steel Temirtau in the Shakhtinsk coal mine base in the Karganda region of Kazakhstan protesting the September 20 methane gas explosion at the Lenin mine, which killed 41 people.

''The number of mines participating in the strike has increased to seven after the Saranskaya mine joined the strike,'' deputy chairman of the Korgau coal miners' trade union Viktor Zorin told Interfax news agency today.

The strike has spread to the Tentekskaya, Shakhtinskaya, Lenin, Kazakhstanskaya, Kuzembayev, Kostenko and Saranskaya mines, Mr Zorin said.

He said, ''Coal is not being produced at the mines at the moment, but their ventilation systems are operating and underground water is being pumped out of them.'' Currently, only one of Mittal Steel Temirtau's eight mines - the Abaiskaya mine - is functioning normally.

''However, emotions are beginning to run high among the Abaiskaya mine's workers as well,'' Mr Zorin said, hinting Abaiskaya miners might also join the strike.

About 500 miners participated in a rally outside the building of the Shakhtinsk administration, the agency said.

Kazakh Emergency Situations Minister Shalbai Kulmakhanov who is the chairman of the Conciliatory Commission, was today expected to announce the results of the investigation into explosion.

UNI