In Kyrgyzstan, the strike ended at the Kumtor mine – the largest gold deposit of the republic. This K-News reported citing the press service of the gold mining enterprise Kumtor Operating Company.
The strikers agreed to return to work after the employer company Kumtor Operating Company staff salaries increased by 4.5 percent. At the present time, as reported 24.kg, units of go to work in normal mode.
The strike at the Kumtor began on February 7. The discontent of the workers was that the increased deductions from their income to the Social Fund of Kyrgyzstan. Under the new rules, fees and surcharges levied to buy off workers for work in the high mountains. Meanwhile, these allowances, as noted, constitute the main part of the earnings of miners.
In the metals and mining union said that in 2010-2011, the employer company itself made payments to the Social Fund, and in 2012 was to retain the appropriate amounts from employees' salaries. In this regard, their income dropped significantly.
Whether the strikers agreed to maintain this practice is not specified.
According to unofficial information, the agency K-News, the strike involved about 50 percent of the staff. The employer in this case stated that he considered the action illegal.
Kumtor deposit is located 350 kilometers south-east of Bishkek (at an altitude of more than four thousand meters above sea level). The mine produces about 18 tons of gold a year. The share of the Kumtor gold in the country's GDP, according to Reuters at the January 2012 amounted to about 24 percent.