Oil refinery workers of Ballsh on hunger strike, protest to block national road
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TIRANA, Albania - Scores of oil workers in the town of Ballsh on Wednesday forced their way into the offices of the refinery company asking for payment of the delayed salaries and of their insurance.
After more than two weeks of a hunger strike of their co-workers, others went to the main offices of the company and forced their way bypassing the private bodyguards.
Some 900 employees want their salaries and social insurance payments paid in full.
Ten of them have been on a hunger strike for 17 days with deteriorating conditions but set to continue despite poor health.
Now the employees are asking the government to intervene and bring back the owners to resume work as well as to get their delayed payments.
The government has responded that it cannot be held accountable for what a private company does.
The refinery is managed by the ‘Tosk Energy Company’, a private entity that has made no comment so far.
The Ballsh Oil Refinery stopped operating in September 2019, leaving about 900 workers unemployed. These are almost all residents of the area around the refinery.
The managing company could not conclude a crude oil purchase for 2019 from its main supplier, Bankers Petroleum.
