Kyrgyzstan workers strike for better pay at Chinese mine, 18 May 2022

A Chinese gold mining firm in southern Kyrgyzstan has become embroiled in a protracted standoff with workers. Mid-way through the third week of the strike, neither side appears ready to climb down. Laborers at the Ishtamberdi gold concession in Jalal-Abad province downed tools on April 30 to demand a pay increase.

Trade union representatives confirmed...that the dispute remains unresolved. Work at the mine has been brought to a standstill, but employees of the adjacent gold recovery plant have not joined the strike.

The owner, Full Gold Mining, purchased Ishtamberdi from the China Road and Bridge Company in 2008. CRBC had secured the concession as payment for reconstruction of a strategic road connecting southern Kyrgyzstan with the Irkeshtam crossing on the border of the two countries...

Eldar Tadjibayev, chairman of the Mining and Metallurgical Workers’ Trade Union of Kyrgyzstan, told Eurasianet that workers have rejected a pay increase of 10 percent and were again seeking a 50 percent rise.

Other issues on the table include the quality of food onsite and accusations that the company is deducting the cost of some equipment from salaries. Laborers have also accused the company of ignoring Kyrgyz legislation envisioning bonuses for high-altitude work – Ishtamberdi, in Jalal-Abad region, is around 2,200 meters above sea level – and accumulated work experience.

Most workers earn salaries between $300 and $400 per month for 12-hour shifts 15 days per month, Tadjibayev said – higher than the national average, but low for the sector...