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27 November, 2006
Some 1,000 German coal miners will convene in Dresden tomorrow, 28 November, to lobby the Christian Democratic Party to preserve federal coal subsidies.
Miners will handbill the CDU’s Congress with a leaflet entitled “We Fight for Germany’s Energy Future”, aimed at reminding German Chancellor Angela Merkel of promises she made to the preservation of the country’s coal mining industry.
The action is supported by ICEM German affiliate IGBCE.
Some 700 miners will arrive from the Ruhr region and from Ibbenbüren, some 300 others from the province of Saarland. The miners and their union are reacting to motions passed by CDU’s North Rhine-Westphalia and Saarland regional delegations to reduce the current level of coal mining in those areas, as well as proposing to phase-out mining subsidies by the first half of the next decade.
The miners contend that domestic coal is necessary in a balanced energy mix, and argue that Germany has become too dependent on imports of both coal and natural gas.
The handbilling campaign also seeks to remind Merkel, as well as North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister Jürgen Rüttgers and Saarland Prime Minister Peter Müller, of pledges they made that any adjustments in the coal mining industry would be socially acceptable, and occur without closures to existing mining operations.