Factory workers from Kosovo's Lesak protest near Jarinje
Around 200 workers of the Lola forging factory in Lesak, Kosovo, gathered in protest on Wednesday near the Jarinje crossing in the north of the province after their company's bank account has been blocked.
(kosovocompromisestuff) Wednesday, February 12, 2014
The workers want the bank account to be unblocked. Traffic on the arterial road from Kosovska Mitrovica to Raska remains unobstructed, and the workers gathered on the former location of the old administrative crossing at Jarinje, near a Kfor military base. Trade union leader Milomir Perovic told the press that the company's account was blocked in mid-January by the Cukarica tax administration due to a debt that has risen to RSD 40 million as a result of unpaid pension and disability insurance. The company does not have the money, Perovic said, recalling that business conditions in northern Kosovo are difficult and that production at the factory is already grinding to a halt. This will put the workers out of work, and they are forced to protest, he said. The workers warned that on Thursday, unless the problem is resolved by authorities, they could block the road by the protest site, which links northern Kosovo with central Serbia. They also warned that the blocked account is a threat to the existence of around 1,000 people in the Leposavic municipality - themselves and their families.
