The Maritsa Iztok Complex in Bulgaria is the largest power plant complex in Southeastern Europe. The two main nearby towns that provide the labor force – Stara Zagora and Galabovo – are heavily polluted. However, a large proportion of the workers living in these towns see the so-called ‘green transition’ as merely the final phase of the ‘transition’ to capitalism that began with the collapse of socialism. So far, it has only brought deindustrialization, job instability, and intensified exploitation, leading to emigration and depopulation. Workers are left to deal with the consequences on their own, but, as Tania Orbova shows in her contribution to the “Kin City” series, their protests give voice to visions of a better world – during and after the transition.
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In the fall of 2023, coal miners and power plant workers from central Bulgaria, near Stara Zagora, where most of the coal mines and power plants are located, barricaded highways and major roads to protest the so-called Territorial ‘Just’ Transition Plans (TJTPs) that the government had sent to the European Commission. The workers claimed that these plans did not reflect their concerns and demanded that they be amended. Their demands went beyond the immediate interests of the workers regarding their jobs and included the postponement of the liberalization of energy market prices for final consumers, which, if implemented, would affect most Bulgarians and significantly increase energy poverty rates (already among the highest in the EU). During the protests, the miners were denounced by the media as ‘selfish,’ ‘unrealistic,’ ‘irrational,’ ‘climate change deniers’ and as hindering the country’s transition to zero emissions. The union leaders were even called ‘terrorists,’ according to the Bulgarian edition of Deutsche Welle, because they said they were ready to go on strike.
After a week of blockades, the government invited union leaders to negotiate, and both sides reached an agreement. However, the miners did not immediately lift the barricades, claiming that the agreement still did not address their grievances. In the spring of 2024, the workers took to the streets again. At that time, I visited the region with fellow researchers and interviewed dozens of miners and locals, trying to understand their perspective beyond the media misrepresentations and the stigma that silences those most affected. Typically, media debates on the ‘green transition’ include energy experts, politicians, and environmentalists, leaving workers as voiceless victims of the coal phase-out. But how can the transition be ‘just’ if those most affected are ignored? Our meetings with coal miners and workers at the Maritsa Iztok Complex in central Bulgaria (the largest energy complex in Southeastern Europe) revealed the significant social costs that local residents will have to bear as a result of the planned policies. In addition, the workers’ narratives consistently presented strong alternative visions of what truly just transitions might entail, in contrast to their mainstream portrayal as conservative defenders of the status quo. The following lines are simply notes written between the long-ignored words of the workers.
Disqualifying requalification
The main concern of the workers at the Maritsa Iztok Complex is clearly the loss of their jobs. In response, the state is offering so-called ‘requalification programs’ aimed at retraining workers. The goal is to help Compex workers (more than 7,000 in the mines alone, not counting the coal-fired power plants in the region) learn new skills so that they can find alternative employment once coal is phased out. Our interviewees almost unanimously claimed that these programs consisted mostly of basic ‘digital skills’ (e.g., Word and Excel), along with English 101. The workers in the complex are already highly skilled with engineering, mechanics, or other technical degrees. Thus, the proposed retraining is perceived either as a mockery of their actual knowledge and skills, or as a government-funded preparation for emigration through language learning. Thus, for most workers, retraining means dequalification:
“40% of the staff are engineers. Come on, these are competent people, people who have studied heat and nuclear energy.”
“What are they going to retrain me for? I have a technical degree for electrician, I have a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, and I have a master degree in occupational health and safety.”
“ …some skills can apply outside, but to make a man who drove a backhoe, as big as 8-storey block, learn English or computer…”
Workers strike back: “There is no alternative”
But the real problem is that there are no alternative jobs, so retraining is virtually meaningless. The complex, which includes a public mine, three private, and one state-owned coal-fired power plant, is the largest employer in the region. It is also the last resort, offering relatively stable and well-paid jobs, since other industries in the region were completely decimated during the privatization process of the 1990s. All that remains of the region’s glorious industrial past is an old, crumbling infrastructure and a series of small businesses offering poor, exploitative working conditions for starvation wages.
“There’s no logic in requalification if we’re not going to provide jobs.”
“…it’s quite clear that the other employers – apart from one or two – give very low wages. And they are low everywhere.“
“the idea of private companies is to kill you from work and have no time to live. To work your life away and die. The good thing about mines and these enterprises [in the Complex] is that you have time to live. You go to work, you do your duties, you have free time, they give you some money to live on.”
On the other hand, new green energy solar parks have begun to occupy agricultural land, deforested land, and even the yards of abandoned rural homes surrounding the mines. But they don’t require much labor, so they are not an alternative. Instead of being a symbol of a green and just future in the eyes of the workers, solar energy became synonymous with their impoverishment and neglect.
“The poultry plant across the street will be transformed into a photovoltaic panel manufacturing company. But at first they could employ maybe only 700 people. So 7,000 versus 700. Other people have to look for alternatives and probably emigrate elsewhere. I think that is why people are fleeing, because they have nowhere to go.”
“You can’t cut down a forest and put these irons instead and say, we’re thinking about nature, we’re thinking about the country, we’re thinking about absolutely everybody. That’s a complete parody to me. People from the mines have been planting these trees for years.”
Еntrepreneurial paradise: society without workers
Finally, in addition to ineffective retraining and a tight job market, workers are being urged to become entrepreneurs themselves. Many told us about business loan programs offered by public institutions. They scoffed at the idea, sharing their deep skepticism that it was either absurd or just a joke. Most are already in debt for basic needs such as housing, adding to their anxiety about the future. The expectation that everyone can become an entrepreneur couldn’t be further from the reality of the people of Stara Zagora. It is just another neoliberal bureaucratic delusion, a perverse dream of a society without workers.
“The idea that 5,000 people could start small businesses where 3,000 will be hair salons and 2,000 nail salons, because these are the options… in Stara Zagora, a shrinking city even with the surrounding industrial complex….!? In a country of 6 million, with perhaps 4 million actively involved in the economy and 2 million marginalized, how many hairdressers do we need?”
“Maybe over 60% of the people at the mine have some form of debt or loans. This worries me the most about the whole situation. What will these people do afterwards? The debt situation is really bad. Whether it’s for a car or a house…Recently, I found out that a colleague’s house caught fire. He had to take out another loan and has done so. People are forced to wait for their paycheck to pay off debts, support their families, and then be told, “We’re shutting down in a month.” Right now, there are people who have mental health problems due to this constant stress.”
Transcending transitions
For the people of Stara Zagora, the so-called green transition is nothing more than the last phase of the ‘transition’ to capitalism that began with the fall of socialism. It has brought only deindustrialization, job instability, and exploitation, leading to emigration and depopulation. Workers are left to deal with the consequences on their own. Both state and EU aid is being channeled to big business, further boosting their profits, instead of being directed to the people who will be most affected and bear the costs of the transition.
But in the voices of workers, an alternative vision for a truly just transition can easily be heard, rather than the climate denialism that mainstream pundits project onto them. Coal miners and energy workers are the ones who not only bear the social costs, but also suffer the most from the polluting industries they have to work for. Their stories inspire hope for a future that is socially just and environmentally sound.
“Why rely on private companies? Why doesn’t the state create its own companies – state-owned enterprises – to use public funds and employ workers in new ventures? If we’re set on following the European Union’s path and strictly follow its rules, then yes, sooner or later closing the mines will be inevitable. But it should happen gradually, without shocks, to avoid social tensions, with clear communication and a strategic plan spanning three, five, or even seven years. I’m not saying the state should bear sole responsibility for the people…But this is where the unions, in partnership with the state, should play a role. Together, they should protect workers while unions provide education and training, and the state ensures job opportunities that align with that education.”
But one need not go so far as to imagine a massive new state-led green industrialization. During our visit, we met a retired miner who used to be a train driver for the state railway. In the late 1990s, after participating in a strike, he was fired, leaving the mine as his only option for employment. It is an open pit mine, so a significant portion of the workers are actually employed on the internal railway network. In addition to his story, we also met several 20-year-old workers who are responsible for maintaining the railroad infrastructure within the mines. This means that these workers can easily transition to green jobs in rail transport without the need for retraining. Unfortunately, over the past 30 years, the railroad has been brought to the brink of financial and material collapse. Despite being an environmentally friendly and green alternative to cars or planes, the public corporation is severely underfunded, lines are being closed, and most of the trains are more than 40 years old and in extremely poor condition.
So the future green and just transition does not necessarily mean brand new (technological) solutions, but could mean rediscovering what we left buried in the past. As one of these very young workers said when asked how he saw the future:
“The only thing that can help is the following. We talked about the past and present. People should go to the past, take back their humanity and unity, return here and fight.”
Note from the editors: The quoted interviews were conducted in March 2024 as part of the “Transition: Reloaded” initiative of Sofia-based Collective for Social Intervention.