Miners are demanding a meeting with Treasury Minister Aleksander Grad with anxiety running high about the forthcoming merger of two companies.

The amalgamation of the Zabrze Coke Conglomerate with the Jastrzebska Coal Company (JSW) was announced some months ago, but workers from the former claim that as of yet, they have received no guarantees that their jobs are secure.

Over 1000 minors from the Zabrze concern have joined forces with trade unions to call for guarantees of further investment.

The trade unions are insisting on an urgent meeting with the minister, following on from several requests that his representatives take part in earlier talks, all of which failed to materialise.

The merging of the two companies is part of a governmental strategy to reform the mining industry. It has been announced that JSW, currently entirely state-owned, and the largest producer of hard coking coal in the European Union, will be placed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange this June, although a large proportion of its interests will remain in state hands. Zabrze's protests coincide with those by workers from JSW itself. (nh)