18
September. The conflict in the open-pit mine "Chernigovsky"(1) (Kuzbass/Kemerovo Region) is
ready to explode. According to the latest reports,
a meeting of shareholders has appointed a new manager, as it was planned
by MirInvest, controlled by the Swiss company TransRail. Today
he tried to enter the territory of the mine with the help of the police.
The workers' detachments continue
to defend the mine. Clashes between them and the police can be expected
soon because the authorities have already made the attempts
to seize the mine by force. On August 31, the tax police, backed by a platoon of riot
police, stopped the concentrating mill of the mine and sealed the warehouse with fuel
and labricants, making it impossible not only to mine but even to transport
the already mined coal. These actions affect the entire town
of Berezovsky. 80% of its budget comes from the mine which supports
a significant part of social services in the town.
Our comrades from the Chernigovsky
mine ask for international support by organizing letters to the press,
faxes, telegrams to the Adnimistration of Kemerovo Oblast' and Governor
Tuleev, copies and letters of support to the local workers' committee.
SEND YOUR PROTESTS TO
Administration of Kemerovo Oblast' Russia, 650099 Kemerovo-99 Sovetskij prospekt 58 Governor Tuleev Tel. (7-38422) 23-4442, 23-4142 Fax: (7-38422) 36-3409 Tentative email addresses of
the regional government: postmaster@ako.kemerovo.su
For the attention of Aman Tuleyev Galeev-michail@AKO.kemerovo.su ras@hq.ako.kemerovo.su evs@hq.ako.kemerovo.su _____________ Workers' Committee of the "Chernigovskij"
Mine
Russia, 652430 Kemerovskaya oblast' g. Berezovsky, ZAO "Chernigovets" Rabochij komitetM fax: (7-38445) 9-6300, 96-349
Back Vyborg Workers
Now! Bosses Use Armed Mercenary Gangs
On 9 July 1999, eighty masked, uniformed
gunmen accompanied by the local prosecutor and other officials tried
to storm the Vyborg Pulp and Paper Mill, under occupation by workers for
the past eighteen months. One special police unit, normally used
to put down prison riots, is reported to have been particularly
vicious. At the same time, another private armed militia linked to the
mill owners captured the workers??™ elected director Vantorin and tried to force
(and made him a substantial bribe) him to call off the strike. He
stood firm and the workers, using the mill's own alarm system managed to
mobilise enough people (including local residents who support their struggle)
to beat off the attack. However, the fighting was fierce, and two workers are seriously
injured.
Some Background Information The Vyborg Pulp and Paper Mill, in
the town of Sovietsky (Leningrad Oblast), sits in a highly strategic
location near the Russo-Finnish border, one of the busiest border and trade crossings
in the country, as well as being nearby the railway line that links
Russia with Scandinavia. The mill itself is very large and features some of the
most modern equipment in the industry.
Formerly owned by American Cellulose, this plant was bankrupted in 1996, in a process which has become
very typical of Russian capitalism today, where firms are allowed to run
to the ground, then asset-stripped and auctioned at low prices. Profits made
are inevitably salted away abroad. Meanwhile the local workforce, often
highly skilled and experienced, are left to starve.
What made the Vyborg situation different was that the workers, as in Samara, Yasnogorsk (Tula) and
other struggles which we have supported, refused to accept their impoverishment
and they seized complete control of their plant. They ran production
themselves, electing their own (unpaid) plant director.
A few months later, the new owners, Nimonor Investments, sued the workers committee and trade union.
A counter-suit was filed by another group of vultures, the creditors of
the bankrupt mill, who felt the property had been unfairly awarded to Nimonor.
Nevertheless, though the courts ruled in favour of Nimonor, the latter was
unable to drive out the occupying workers and establish control over
the mill.
Key areas of strength for the workers were the solidarity they received from other local and regional
workers organisations, the massive local sympathy (the mill produces
the electricity that supplies people's homes), and perhaps most importantly
of all, their threat to cut off all traffic on the Russia-Scandinavia highway
and the railway. The mass blockades of last summer's "rail war"
in support of the miners and other workers showed just how important this
tactic is proving to be.
The mill has since been sold by Nimonor to a company called Alcem UK Ltd., apparently linked to
some of the most mafia-ridden sections of Russian industry, the alcohol and aluminium
sectors. The relationship of Nimonor and Alcem to each other is not clear,
nor is it clear whether these are actually front companies for a larger
firm.
One thing is clear, however. The combined attack by government authorities and private company militias,
armed with guns and batons, was designed to destroy in the bud
the new, rising militancy of Russian workers, sick of their plight. The
IMF-Yeltsin privatisation programme has reduced much of the economy of this
former superpower to that of a Third World Country. Russian workers, who once
enjoyed a life expectancy similar to western levels, now live on average
to the age of 56. They will not put up with this situation any longer.
The ruthless attack on the Vyborg workers comes hard on the heels of an unprecedented victory by
the workers of the Yasnogorsk (Tula region) machine plant, who also took control
of their factory in a similar scenario to the Vyborg one. Nearly
all of their demands were conceded after a long occupation during which the workers
ran production, shared the profits and fed their town.
Every boss in Russia is terrified that this method of fighting will become widespread, and that the
authorities will lose more and more control. Clearly they hope to roll
back the tide now by using violent, fascistic methods, before this militancy goes
any further.
Now is the time to answer the Vyborg workers appeal for international solidarity with Vyborg
workers. All workers and progressive organisations around the world need
to send their messages of protest to the regional authorities (see inset), and
to stand by ready for further action. We are also interested to hear any information
regarding the true identity of Alcem UK Ltd., its major shareholders,
its trading partners, etc.. Contact ISWoR e-mail - antek@aol.com fax:
+44 171 733 9622
TAKE ACTION NOW! The Government of the Leningrand Region say they are going to discuss ??°the
situation with the Vyborg mill.??? Now (17th July) is a good time to send
them many faxes and e-mails of protest about the attacks by armed
militia??™s against the Vyborg workers, etc. the acting governor is Serdiukov, V.
P. Fax: (007) 812-271-56-27 Head of the Press Center: Veretin,
A. I. phone (007) 812-312-46-35, 276-61-08 fax (007) 812-110-78-41 E-mail: lobl@mail.lanck.net President??™s Representative Poltavchenko, G. tel/fax
(007) 812-274-08-25
Dear Friends, International Solidarity with Workers
in Russia - ISWoR - is collaborating with others in Russia
and around the world to make our voice heard loudly in support of the Vyborg workers.
Please take action as requested above and more information will be forthcoming
on what action can be taken next.
Please let ISWoR know of any fax's or
e-mails you send in protest.
e-mail - antek@aol.com fax:
+44 171 733 9622
Regards, Steve Myers for ISWoR.
Astrakhan'
(Southern Volga). On May 5, 1999 about 130 workers-members of the union "Defense"
from the Plant of Concrete Constructions (PCC) blocked the central avenue.
They did not get their wages since February 1998.
The labor action began at 9 am with
the workers' picket in front of the Office of the Regional Administration.
They were joined by 50 investors of the bankrupt bank Express.
The Governor A. Guzhvin came out, said
some nonsense and went back. At 10 am the investors were allowed in to
meet with regional representatives, but the door remained shut for the workers.
The workers, angered by such outrageous behavior of the authorities,
proceeded to march down the central avenue where they were attacked by
the police (50 men). In the ensuing fight, two women received light injuries
and the street was blocked.
The picket was then set up right next
to the Regional Police Office and the workers immediately began getting active
support from the nearby construction workers and salesmen.
They all knew well the union Defense which enjoys the reputation of
a radical working-class organization that has organized and led all strikes,
blockades and occupation strikes in the city. So once people around the
area learned that the picket was being led by this union they immediately offered
it their support and joined the strikers. Meanwhile the police
was given an order to arrest Dmitry Simakin, a PCC worker, who is also a member
of the All-Russian Strike Committee and the Co-Chairman of the Regional Federation
of Workers Labor Unions. The workers shielded Simakin from the cops
and threatened to stay on the street permanently if he's arrested.
Their show of solidarity had immediate
effect. The police not only backed down but even allowed the workers to
block the street right in front of the Governor's Office for two hours!
It is still to be seen what will be
the effects of this labor action. The Administration has begun to sort out
the problem of back wages and the results will soon become known.
Today the PCC is the most socially active
industrial enterprise in the city. Since October 1998 its workers
striked several times, twice blocked the highway Astrakhan'-Volgograd, and blocked
the Regional Administration Office three times. The organizer of
these actions was the union Defense created last September; almost all of the PCC
workers are members of this union. As the result of the union actions, two
[plant directors were fired, part of the back wages paid and a criminal
investigation of the previous plant administration started.
A commission has been formed to investigate the property transactions which put the
plant on the brink of bankruptcy. The commission includes representatives
from the union Defense, A. Simakin and O. Shein.
The struggle continues. We ask
all labor activists to spread around this information and send us letters of
solidarity to the following addresses
Shein72@mail.ru Astrakhan, 414000, Volodarskogo, 15,
Shein ?.V. Astrakhan, 414000, Sovetskaya 15, Head
of the Regional Administration ?.P.Guzhvin (copies) Fax 8-8512-222248 (Shein, ?.V.) Tel: 8-8512-573951 (home, Simakin,
D.S.)
In addition,
Governor Guzhvin's email:
head@region.astmail.astranet.ru
You can also send him a letter of protest
through his web page:
Slave Wages Paid
in GAP's Russian Outsource Factories Draw Global Protest on June18
San Francisco-based GAP clothing company
pays workers in its Russian outsourcing factories an average of
just 56 US cents/hour, with some workers receiving wages as low as 11 cents/hour(!)
Meanwhile GAP boss Millard Drexler's
pay was $46.8 million in 1998.
"You can only go to the toilet
when a bell rings," said a 19-year-old former employee. "If they catch you talking,
you get in trouble."
Most of the factories are located in
or around Vladivostok, near the Russia-Chinese border. In fact some
of the most exploited workers are Chinese immigrants recruited for Russian factory
work in order to circumvent restrictions on Chinese imports to
US. South Korean and other firms acts as middlemen in the contracts to supply
companies like GAP with fashion jeans, sold at enormous profits in the west.
International Solidarity with Workers
in Russia (ISWoR), as part of the global protests against capitalist
exploitation planned to co-incide with the June 18 1999 G7 summit in Cologne,
is calling for actions against GAP clothing, (also trading as BabyGap,
Old Navy and Banana Republic).
ACTIONS
San Francisco
In San Francisco, we ask people to assemble
outside the flagship GAP store at Powell and Market at 11:30 am, from
which we will greet the main march which arrives a few minutes later. For further
information, email giltapia@igc.apc.org Or write PO Box 424725 San Francisco,
California
London In London we ask all J18'ers to join
us in targeting GAP/GAP Kids at 315 Oxford St, W1. The aim is for all-day
disruption of their sales by phoning the shop (0171-493 3316 or 0171 409
7517) or calling in and demanding to speak to the manager. We then ask why
GAP pays workers in Russia 11 cents an hour. You can use your imagination
about other possible forms of disruption, as long as the political message is
made clear.
Other Cities
For further information, or for details
of events in other cities, or if you would like to stage your own protest
over Gap's treatment of Russian workers, please Email antek5@aol.com or write International Solidarity with Workers
in Russia - ISWoR Box R, 46 Denmark Hill, London SE5 8RZ
We aim too to make links with the GAP
shopworkers, they are exploited too, though on a different scale, and we
want to explain to them how building solidarity with GAP's Russian workers
helps to protect all against slave conditions.
Certainly GAP is just one of many thousands
of westen businesses and financial institutions exploiting Russian
workers. But this company, because of both its hypocritical claims to
be a 'caring employer' and also its appalling record in Saipan, Latin America
and many other areas, has already been the target of high-profile anti-sweatshop
protests (notably those organised by Global Exchange in USA
and Clean Clothes Campaign in Holland). Its record is widely known and links
have already been built between GAP workers engaged in a fightback and
their supporters in many countries. Why then, the focus on Russia?
Russia, the world's second biggest nuclear
nation, is being driven dangerously down the path of ultra-nationalism
and fascism by the predatory attitude of the IMF, which has destroyed
its economy, closed down much of its industry and impoverished ordinary
Russians, while the country's mineral resources and wealth were stolen by
western big companies and their New Russian cronies.. Last winter millions
went hungry and tens of thousands, unable to heat their homes, were forced
to evacuate or die of cold. Meanwhile abundant fuel was exported to the west
at high profits.
Yeltsin now stands exposed as a puppet
of western capital, and has lost most of his popular support. But this political
vacuum will now be filled by racist, ultra-nationalist and fascist
forces if Russian workers are allowed to feel isolated and see no support
for their struggle from workers outside, and especially in the G7 countries.
What happens now in Russia as a result of this crisis will have far-reaching
and global consequences.
International Solidarity with Workers
in Russia - ISWoR exists to support all progressive, anti-racist Russian workers
organizations that are genuinely fighting the rape of their country
by the rich magnates of the West and their Russian stooges. We urge you to support
this action on June 18 and to continue to support Russian workers.
Contact us now to find out more about how you can get involved!
International Solidarity with Workers
in Russia - ISWoR Box R, 46 Denmark Hill, London SE5 8RZ
Email antek5@aol.com
And in San Francisco write PO Box 424725 San Francisco, California
The Globe
and Mail
June 14, 1999
RUSSIANS ACCUSE MCDONALD'S OF UNION-BASHING
STAFF AT CANADIAN-OWNED FOOD PLANT; COMPLAIN OF LAYOFFS, HARASSMENT,
DISMISSAL THREATS; COMPANY DENIES VIOLATING LABOUR LAWS
By Geoffrey York
Moscow -- The workers at the McDonald's
fast-food plant were angry and unhappy. As the Russian crisis deepened,
layoffs had begun. Real wages were slashed, and working conditions were
deteriorating.
"It was a revolutionary situation,"
recalled Natalya Gracheva, a worker at the plant for nine years. "As Lenin
said, the smell of revolution was in the air."
The layoffs prompted her and other workers
to begin organizing a trade union at the Canadian-owned factory
in a Moscow suburb. In the early days of the campaign last November, about
half of the 400 workers signed application forms or expressed the
desire to join the union, she said.
But over the next six months, the fledgling
union was virtually crushed. The giant fast-food company stonewalled
the union, ignored its letters and told workers not to join. Union organizers
say their members were intimidated, harassed, and threatened
with dismissal.
"We were so nervous and the atmosphere
was so stressful that we couldn't sleep at night for a month," Ms. Gracheva
said. "People were afraid to lose their jobs."
Some of those who joined the union,
including Ms. Gracheva, say they were singled out for punishment for minor
offences such as being two minutes late from a washroom break.
In the end, only 18 workers formally
joined the union, and barely a dozen are left today. Its organizers say
the union might not survive the confrontation with management.
Russian union leaders say McDonald's
is blatantly violating Russian labour laws by refusing to negotiate with
the new union. The company, whose Russian operations are controlled by
the Canadian branch of McDonald's, denies the charge and insists it is
complying with all Russian laws.
The company's resistance to unions is
an old story, a pattern that has repeated itself in Canada and many
other countries. In Russia, however, workers are theoretically protected
by Soviet-era labour laws. But the battle at McDonald's has exposed the
weakness of union rights in the new capitalist Russia.
In a letter to McDonald's last month,
the Moscow government urged the company to negotiate a collective agreement
with the union. So far, the managers are refusing to budge.
Glen Steeves, a Canadian who is chairman
and senior executive of McDonald's Russia, responded to questions with
only a terse faxed statement.
"More than 400 Russians are employed
at McDonald's food processing and distribution centre and we are proud
to say that the majority of these employees support the current employment
practices," the statement said. "As always, we respect the wishes of
our employees and continue to abide by local labour laws."
The statement said the company is a
"progressive employer" with "advanced personnel programs based on the principle
of mutual understanding and co-operation."
The statement acknowledged that Russian
laws allow even a small number of employees of any business to form a
union. But it didn't explain why McDonald's is refusing to talk to the
union.
McDonald's often boasts that it emerged
from the Russian economic crisis with barely a dent in its profits.
It says it is making tens of millions of dollars in profits from its 49 restaurants
in Russia. But the workers say they are paying the price for the company's
success, suffering job insecurity and a heavy loss of income
as management slashes costs.
Russian union leaders say McDonald's
has violated two laws: a Russian law guaranteeing freedom of trade-union
activity, and a Moscow regional law requiring any company to begin negotiations
within one week of a proposal >from its union. The union sent its
contract proposal in February, but says it never received a reply.
"McDonald's has made every effort to
frighten the union and disband it," said Kirill Buketov, a Russian organizer
for a Geneva-based international union of food-industry workers.
"According to Russian law, the size
of the union doesn't matter. Any group of workers, with a minimum of three
people, have the right to form a union and negotiate a collective agreement.
McDonald's is saying that this is only a small group of workers, but
it doesn't matter -- it's not an excuse to violate the law."
The Russian media have been surprised
by the labour dispute. After all, McDonald's pays its workers regularly,
while millions of other Russians often go months or years without wages.
But workers say the conditions at McDonald's
have gone sharply downhill since the economic crisis began last
summer. The pace of the factory work has speeded up, and a growing number
of workers are falling sick because of the pressure, union members say.
"Even to visit a bathroom you have to
ask permission," said Yevgeny Druzhinin, a driver at the plant who
joined the union. "They are increasing the demands on us. They invent ridiculous
norms, like 1? minutes to load or unload something. And if you take too
long, the managers write that you work badly."
Mr. Druzhinin, who has worked for nine
years at the plant, said he has been getting pay bonuses for superior job
performance for years. But after he joined the union, he said he was singled
out for harassment and punishment, including reprimands that can lead
to dismissal.
"The situation was different nine years
ago when I began working here," he said. "There were foreign managers
and we came to work with joy -- we were happy to work here. Now, it's like
penal servitude."
Before the crisis, average wages at
the plant were the ruble equivalent of $300 to $350 (U.S.) a month, workers
say. After the ruble's collapse in the crisis, wages fell to about $100 to
$150 (U.S.), and many workers had their hours reduced.
A novice worker at a McDonald's restaurant
in Moscow must work three hours to earn enough to buy a Big Mac, union
leaders say. By contrast, a McDonald's worker in Germany earns
enough in an hour to buy three of the same burgers.
Under a new contract imposed by McDonald's
this year, plant workers are guaranteed only 20 hours of work a
week, compared with 40 hours before, and they are paid by the hour, instead
of monthly, Ms. Gracheva said.
When a handful of workers began organizing
the union last fall, they weren't even sure how to do it. Although
the Soviet-era union federations still have tens of millions of members,
the unions are weak and usually pro-government. "When young guys, fresh
from school, come to work at McDonald's, they don't even know what
a union is," Ms. Gracheva said.
McDonald's threatened to fire workers
or reduce their wages or privileges if they joined the union, she said.
It also held a hasty meeting of plant workers and obtained a vote against
the union.
Although she had worked for eight years
at the plant without any problems, Ms. Gracheva was hit with two official
reprimands in her personnel file after she began organizing the union.
"The first two or three months were
very difficult, and I almost gave up," she recalled. "They wanted to get rid
of me. They tried to find something wrong with me, so that I could be fired."
Earlier this year, the company finally
recognized the union's right to exist. "But unofficially the company
is still fighting the union," Mr. Buketov said. "It's trying to fire
all of the union members."
In the increasingly cutthroat world
of post-Soviet capitalism, Russian workers feel they have nobody to protect
them. "People are scared," Ms. Gracheva said. "They've lost the feeling
of solidarity. They only want to survive. It looked like we had democracy
for the past 10 years, but life for ordinary people is getting worse."
The tiny union at the McDonald's plant
has a sense of isolation from other workers and other countries, she said.
"We only wanted to defend our rights. But we're losing all our rights."
Asked if the workers have any rights
at all at the factory, she stopped and thought. Finally she laughed. "We have
the right to work."
Geoffrey York is the Moscow correspondent
for the Globe and Mail.
Vyborg: Workers
Defeat Bosses' Armed Mercenaries
"On the morning of 9th July, several
dozen uniformed cut-throats stormed ..the administration building of the
Vyborg Pulp and Paper Mill in the town of Sovetskii.
Eighteen months ago the workers took complete control over this plant and all its shops, resumed production,
including the unique paper producing machinery, one of the most advanced
in the world. After many years of hunger and poverty, the mill workers were
now paid their wages regularly.
However, this... was not to the liking of those that lost control ... Last summer the courts decided
to return the mill to the predators from Nikamor Company. The firm Alcem,
linked to some of the most corrupt and criminal sections of Russian business
- the vodka and aluminum trade - bought the “right” for the mill from Nikamor
and went from threats to actions.
Under the protection of the deputy head of the Leningrad Region Police, Yury Gavrilov, the bandits
seized the mill director Vantorin, elected by the workers, and began sealing off
the administration offices. About 500 workers then rushed to Vantorin’s help.
They succeeded in pushing the bandits to the third floor of the building.
Unarmed workers fought a bloody battle with “private” guards armed
with guns and batons. The “fighters” of the spetsnaz unit “Taiphoon” - used
to put down prison riots - were particularly ruthless. They seriously
wounded two workers.
In the end, the workers’ resistance were so fierce, and their threats to cut the trade “Scandinavia” highway
were so real, that ..the acting regional governor Serdiukov and the
police general Petukhov ordered the retreat. So far the workers have
won in this bloody fight.
They were helped by the determined support of the city and regional unions who have strongly condemned
the attack on the mill. More and bigger battles lie ahead...."
Extracts translated by Valdimir Bilenkin
from the news release of “Rabochaia Demokratiia” (Moscow)
This is some additional info (from last
year) on this conflict:
Strikes in Russian Carelia
Recently Finnish newspapers reported
about a paper mill strike in Sovjetski, Russian Carelia. The strike
had continued for about 6 weeks, so it is almost 8 weeks old. Workers
had occupied the factory, voted for unpaid director to hold the chair,
and rejected an offer to let new, foreign owners step into the factory
until 2 year's unpaid back wages are paid. In the beginning of the strike,
strikers also tried to block the Helsinki - Saint Petersburg motorway
but they didn't manage the task as officials threated them with special
police forces. Workers responded that there are over 300 armed hunters
ready at Sovjetski.
Inhumane conditions are quite common
in some areas of Russia, what makes this case nastier than the average
exploitation is that the factory is owned by a foreign company,
Nimonor Investment, "located" in Cyprus.
Pressure upon Nimonor Investment and
their representative, the Englishman Mark Rhodes, would help
in order to fix the situtation with unpaid wages unpaid and to avoid it
becoming the norm for foreign-owned companies in Russia. On the other hand,
there seems to be some proof that there is Russian capital behind
Nimonor Investment, such as Buzurov's Bass-company. Before Nimonor,
the facility was owned by American Cellulose.
There is also some other signs that
people in Russian Carelia aren't taking it anymore. North of Sovjetski,
in Segeza, workers at a bag factory, which is about to be shut
down by its owner the Swedish Assi Domän, have threatened to start
attacks against the railways if the shutdown continues.
originally sent to: Multiple recipients of the ALTER-EE
list by: Antti Rautiainen of the Finnish
Solidaarisuus
-för revolution i vår livstid-
ksvensson@hotmail.com
Protest!
First of all, I got a response to my
inquiry from the regional government (Leningrad Region) that they are going
to discuss "the situation in the Vyborg mill" soon and let me know about this.
If so it is a good time to send them
faxes etc.
Government of Leningrad Region (acting
governor Serdiukov, V. P.): Fax: (812) 271-56-27 Head of the Press Center Veretin, A.
I. (812) 312-46-35, 276-61-08, fax (812) 110-78-41. E-mail: lobl@mail.lanck.net
President's representative Poltavchenko,
G. tel/fax (812) 274-08-25
It must be kept in mind that these gangsters
(Leningrad and the region are recognized as the most corrupt and mafia
ridden holes in the country) are sensitive only to the opinion of the "civilized
West" and prospective investors in particular. So these are some
of the biggest investors in Leningrad Region:
Philip Morris: new tobacco factory "Philip
Morris Izhora" ($330 million), production to begin in 2000
Caterpillar is building its "Caterpillar
Tosno" plant
Standard Commercial Tobacco Company
Inc is building "Cres Neva" factory
International Paper owns "Svetogorsk"
P&P Mill and plans to expand it.
"Alcem UK Ltd" is the name of
the company that now owns the mill and organized the attack.
Send letters of support to the chairman
the mill's local Vitaly Kiriakov tel/fax
(81278)74-370
Vyborg Mill's address: Russia 188918, Leningradskaia Oblast, Vyborgskii raion, pos. Sovetskii, ul. Zavodskaia,
4 Tel. 8-278-74778,74346, 73500 FAX: 74886
More details on the history of this
conflict
The mill is one of the largest and modern
in the industry. It was modernized in 1988, i.e. under the
Soviet regime. Moreover, it's strategically located near the border
with Scandinavia and a modern highway linking Russia with the former.
In short, it is jucy piece of property. In spite of all this,
the mill was driven into bankrupted in 1996 (this is exactly the same case
as we seen in Samara) and sold in the auction to Nimonor Investmens Ltd
(apparently registered in Cyprus as thousands of other shady companies).
Nimonor made only initial payment and then stopped any further
financing. Themanager appointed by the auction made arrangements for selling
the mill's property to creditors. The workers stopped
receiving wages and organized. Led by Osip Kikibush, they declared the mill
a "people's property", locked out the appointed manager and elected their
own, "people's director" Alexander Vantorin. Meanwhile
the mill's creditors broke their ranks too. Bank "Tavricheskii" declared
that the auction deal gave Nimonor a sweet deal and began court action.
In its turn, Nimonor suited the strike committee and the local union.
They also charged Kikibush with stealing mill's property and the Prosecutor's
office of Vyborg began the criminal investigation. In May
of 1998 the arbitrage court ruled in Nimonor's favor both against the workers
and "Tavricheskii." But Nimonor has failed to establish
control over the mill. The armed guard joined the workers and prevented
Nimonor's security forces to take over the mill. Last winter the strike
committee declared the state of emergency in the township and barred
Nimonor's representatives from entering the mill's territory.
The situation at the factory has caused the tensity not only among the workers
(the people didn't receive the wages), but also in the settlement
Sovetsky itself, because the factory supply the buildings with electricity,
hot water and heating. Several new details about the last clash on
July 9 from today's bulletin of RKWP.
About 80 thugs in masks armed with carabines
and shotguns were accompanied by the Vyborg prosecutor
and two marshalls. They seized mill's entrances but failed to penetrate
the territory due to the workers' resistence. Meanwhile,
another group--who identified themselves as FSB (KGB) agents but
who turned out to be the armed gurd from the liquor factory AFB-2--seized
director Vantorin and pressured him to issue an order to stop the mill
and get the workers out. Threats were combined with promises to give
Vantorin 10% of mill shares. Vantorin did not waver and in the presense
of gangsters gave ordered the workers to remove the guests from the
mill. At this time the local began acting using the the mill's siren
to mobilize the workers and the residents of Sovetskoe. The battle
for the administration building began. When several workers suffered
heavy injuiries(from batons), the workers threatened to lynch the marshalls.
One of them was so scared that he locked himself in the bathroom
and requested that the local police provide him the escort for leaving
the town.
The Russian Executive Committee of the
Congress of Workers, Peasants, Specialists, and White-Collar Workers
appeals to all unions and workers' collectives to support the mill's workers
and send protests to authorities.
Moscow July, the 9th, 1999 The strike is over the struggle is
going on
One of the biggest and most important
occupational strikes in Russia has ended in success. Yasnogorsk workers
went on strike in December 1998 protesting against huge wage arrears
and arrest of the two directors of the plant who had been appointed on the
general meeting of the workers.
The workers took over their plant last
September. Since then Yasnogorsk workers' committee and trade-union
committee had been running the plant for almost one year. The workers' committee
has become the core and the centre of the struggle. It came into contact
with many other strike and workers' committees as well as with revolutionary
proletarian organisations in Russia and abroad.
The struggle has destroyed all the illusions
about so called human people's capitalism and made them understand
that the real enemy of every worker is not only the boss or the government
but the private property and capitalism itself. Proletarian revolution is the
only solution to all the problems the workers of Russia are facing.
Every strike has its end. But this time
the bosses were forced to sign a collective agreement drafted by the
workers' committee and to admit all the terms that the workers insisted on.
The workers are being paid. They are receiving money for all the months
they were on strike. Their wages have been raised. The workers' committee
has got the right to control the plant administration and can cancel any of
the decision taken by the bosses in case it is considered unacceptable
for the workers. It's an unprecedented case hardly imaginable not only in
Russia but in any developed country of the world.
At the same time Yasnogorsk workers
do realise that their success will be finally destroyed unless they
go on the struggle for the proletarian revolution. A good work has been done
in this direction in order to unite strike and workers committees, other
proletarian groups. But there is an urgent need for a co-ordinating centre.
There is a huge amount of work to be done.
But Yasnogorsk workers' committee believes
that even the forthcoming Duma elections may help the process. A workers'
candidate will run the elections in Tula region. That will facilitate
him the possibility to use mass media for the propaganda of revolutionary
ideas. And in case he wins all the Duma facilities could be used for this purpose.
"It will be difficult to win the elections.
And the lack of money is the biggest problem of course. Bourgeois
candidates have everything, we have nothing except for ourselves. But
we will challenge them and do our best to win this small battle in order to make
the next step on the road to revolution", - say Yasnogorsk workers.
