The independent miners’ union, which announced the arrests on X, had called on employees of two coal and silver mines in central and eastern Turkey to protest.

“No bread, no peace,” it wrote earlier in the day, calling on officials at the Ministry of Energy to “find a solution”.

About 100 miners from one of the two mines staged a nine-day hunger strike in the Turkish capital in April to demand that their employer pay their salaries.

Some 110 workers were arrested and taken into custody for 14 hours after calling for a meeting with energy ministry officials.

The strike ended after the announcement of an agreement with their employer.

But the miners, who say they have received their back pay and/or severance, are still demanding compensation for a forced leave that lasted months.

There was no immediate response from the energy ministry when contacted by AFP.

rba/phz/sbk