KIEV: Hundreds of angry Ukrainian coal miners protested in Kiev Wednesday demanding the government protect their jobs as pits face closure in a crisis worsened by the country's separatist conflict in the east.
Banging their helmets on the ground outside the president's office, the miners yelled "Shame", demanding that the pro-Western government raise their pay and restore subsidies to the mines that help power Ukrainian industry.
Waving signs reading "Stop ruining the coal mining industry" and "Without coal, there is no Ukraine", they blocked a central street near government offices.
"We work in very hard conditions, underground, out of sight of the sun," said one demonstrator, who gave his name as Viktor, from Lugansk, one of the eastern regions hardest hit by recent fighting.
"I have worked for 30 years in the dark and I have the right to a dignified life."
Ukraine's economy, in recession since 2012 and beset by corruption, has been brought to the brink of collapse during the past year of conflict between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in the coal-rich east.
Prices have surged for ordinary Ukranians as the value of their hryvnia currency has plunged by two thirds against the dollar since early 2014 while year-on-year inflation reached 46 percent in March.
Another miner, who gave his name as Oleksandr, said he earned 5,000 hryvnia (less than 200 euros or $215) a month.
"Have you seen the prices? We don't have enough to feed our families," he told AFP.
Ukraine has received rescue loans from the International Monetary Fund on condition that it take money-saving measures, including cutting certain welfare payments to miners.
On Tuesday, Energy Minister Volodymyr Demchyshyn said that 11 mines may have to be closed.
He said that fighting had curbed coal production in the east, forcing Ukraine to import coal to fuel its power stations.
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