A strike at Kosovo’s mining giant, Trepca, ended at around 2am on Friday after ten days of work stoppages during which dozens of miners sought medical assistance. The miners, MPs from the ruling Vetevendosje party and the Ministry of Economy said they had managed to reach an agreement.

“According to what was read to us, the opening for a new director of Trepca will be announced soon, salaries will not be delayed as they have been delayed so far, and (improved) conditions and security for jobs (were promised),” Gani Osmani, representative of the Trepca Employees’ Union, told BIRN.

“We will wait and see because this is an issue that takes time,” Osmani added.

Trepca had earlier announced on Wednesday that the miners in Novoberde mine and flotation workers in Kishnica had stopped their strike.

The strike started on September 24 due to delays in payments of salaries and had continued despite the government allocating slightly over 1.6 million euros for Trepca.

The miners had demanded that salaries be paid from the 6th to the 10th of each month, the dismissal of the director, Enis Abdurrahmani, health insurance and better working conditions.

The management of Trepca deemed the strike illegal as, according to them, it was not announced seven days earlier. The union claimed the management had suspended five members of the union as initiators of the strike, which the miners considered a threat.

In addition, the management stopped “daily per diems and meal allowances” for employees who “have boycotted work” due to striking.

In February, the government allocated a loan of 20 million euros to Trepca, but this has not been completed so far.