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UKRAINIAN MINERS PROTEST WORKING CONDITIONS By : Megan St. John

.	Ukrainian miners have sent a message to their government that they will no longer put up with unpaid wages and unsafe working conditions. The miners went on strike last Monday to protest over a billion dollars in back pay and dangerous conditions that have led to more than sixty deaths since April. The strike ended on Friday when the government began to pay some of the wages. Irene Gorsky, a Russian-American from Nyack, New York with family in Russia, said that the situation in the Ukraine was inevitable and that the people resorted to striking because of their suffering. "The working conditions are probably absolutely atrocious. They probably went on strike out of total desperation," said Gorsky. According to the Russia Today on-line source, the Ukraine coal industry is in constant competition with their Russian counterpart over coal prices and has suffered economically because of Russiaís lower priced coal. Most of the workers went back to work as soon as the government began to pay them and labor leaders worried that their cause hadnít been fully resolved. Russia Today reported that Mykhaylo Volynets, the leader of the Ukrainian Independent Miners Trade Union, expressed dismay over the fact that the miners settle quickly and returned to work before a formal agreement had been reached with the Ukrainian government. "The government has sent some money to protesters trying to end the strike," Volynets said. "Unfortunately some of our protesters were happy to pocket the money and forget the point of the strike," he said. Mark Kotlaroff, a student from Valley Cottage, New York with family in Russia, said that heís doubtful the workerís problems will be thoroughly addressed unless the workers hold out for a definite agreement. "I believe that the only reason the government started paying the back wages is just for the purpose of appeasement and the conditions will not improve in the long run," said Kotlaroff. "In general, I donít think itís a smart move for the workers to end the strike without any guarantees from the government." The Ukraineís economic problems have been similarly experienced in Russia. Russian workers have also struggled with unpaid wages and the frustration that goes along with it. Katia Gorsky, a Russian-American student at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York and a student of Russian studies, said that the Ukraineís labor problems need to be addressed directly and that the problem needs careful examination not a quick solution. "The government is trying to appease the strikers, theyíre not trying to solve the problems- theyíre trying to solve the symptoms of the problems," said Gorsky. Russia Today reported that the Ukraine government may begin to pay tariffs on imported coal to support the Ukrainian coal industry.	.