Wage arrears owed to the miners of state-owned coal enterprises as of the end of August dropped to Hr 150 million with the average monthly payroll being Hr 450 million, Minister of Energy and Coal Industry Volodymyr Demchyshyn has said.
“There are no debts for the previous periods. For last July we have a small debt of Hr 150 million. I think if some money is spent, the debt will fall slightly,” he said in an interview which has been posted on the website of TV Channel Five.
At the same time, the minister noted that after the abolition of budget subsidies, payments of wages at state mines remains very difficult as their monthly losses amount to about Hr 250 million.
Demchyshyn said that the ministry is seeking Hr 1 billion of budget funds for technical modernization, which would increase production and allow the public coal sector to break even in a year.
