CONAKRY, April 2 (Reuters) - Guinea's government has sent two ministers to hold talks on Friday with striking workers at RUSAL's Friguia alumina refinery, where production remains at a standstill, a RUSAL source said.
Workers at the plant, Guinea's largest industrial project with a capacity to produce around 640,000 tonnes of alumina per year, went on strike on Thursday and are demanding a 50 percent pay hike to compensate for a 40 percent increase in fuel prices.
"Two ministers arrived last night. This morning they are holding talks to find a solution to the problem,” the RUSAL source said, asking not to be named.
"The situation is the same as yesterday. All production has stopped. Minimum service is currently being maintained to ensure that the factory's equipment isn't totally damaged,” the source added.
RUSAL, which ships the alumina around the world to be refined into aluminium, said on Thursday that it was working with unions to resolve the strike but the situation had not had any impact on the company's production volumes.
A resident in Fria, the town that hosts the Friguia refinery, said that power had been cut to the town since the beginning of the strike.
"We haven't seen this since 1991 (when there was a general strike). We don't have power and some neighbourhoods are also experiencing water shortages,” the resident said.
(Reporting by Saliou Samb; writing by David Lewis, editing by Anthony Barker)
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