Dozens of workers in the mines of the Canadian multinational El Dorado Gold, at Northern Greece, are in mobilizations demanding to restart the work and guarantees for their job positions. In the Greek subsidiary of El Dorado Gold work about 1.800-2.000 workers, of whom about 800 are through contractors.
The company stopped all work and suspended all workers after the Greek Governments’ decision for suspension of works, for violating environmental conditions. Using the need of the workers for jobs, the employers try to force the government to recall its decision. At the same time there are mobilizations of the locals against gold mining in the area.
In this conflict the main issue is carefully hidden: The issue of ownership and utilization of the mineral resources, their transfer into the hands of the capital. The issue is whether there will be mining activity for the benefit and satisfaction of social and people’s needs or whether it will be the subject of speculation, of profitability, source of immense wealth for the big monopoly corporations, such as the El Dorado Gold.
The mining activity must be in the interest of the social and people’s needs, within the context of a central planning for the production and mining industry.
Only within these conditions there will be the ability to protect the area and the environment, the health of the locals, the rights and the jobs of the workers. Within this context there will be satisfaction for the demands of the workers in the company to stop massive lay offs and guarantee their jobs. For health and safety measures in the workplace, for the wages etc
