From Russia - with Solidarity

A solidarity picket for the striking miners in Budryk Mine was held outside the Polish Consulate in Irkutsk. The consular officials refused to take the protest, but the comrades sent it anyway. They send their solidarity greetings to the Budryk miners.

This is from the test of their protest letter:

We are the group Autonomous Action of Irkutsk and we are expressing our solidarity with the striking miners from Budryk Mine. We demand an end to the economic and social injustice with respect to the miners who have less wages than in other mines in this industry, In our viewpoint there are no legal reasons for such discrimination. The mine is the third most profitable one in Poland. Despite this, the Workers are forced to strike in order to support their families. Undoubtedly this does not speak well of the Polish Ministry of the Treasury which owns the mine. We suggest that the Ministry remember the so-called "Railway Wars" - the strikes and blockades of railway lines that took place in Russia at the beginning of 90s. The Ministry should not allow such events to occur because of the persecution of Workers but should fulfill their demands!

In 1998, Russian miners blocked the railways in Siberia in a protest over unpaid wages. This was one of many miners' protests to occur in Russia over the past ten years. People in Irkutsk still have vivid memories of these events.