Unrests on tractor plant in Belarus

• 13.09.2011, 10:08

Workers of the paint shop at the Minsk Tractor Plant (MTZ) demand higher payments.

Workers of shop Nr 91 of the Minsk Tractor Plant applied to the radio-electronic industry trade union asking to prepare documents for the plant executives due to low wages. Though payments for the personnel were increased by 40%, wages of workers of the paint shop in June-August were 20% less than their payments in February 2011.

“We have an application from workers of the Minsk Tractor Plant saying their wages have decreased 20% in comparison with February. It is calculated in Belarusian rubles, not in dollar equivalent,” the trade union head, Henadz Fyadynich, told Praca-by.info. “At the same time, the plant raised payments three times, two times by 10% and the latest increase was 20%. The inflation rate since the beginning of the year is over 50%. Workers work in three shifts. They do not understand why their labour is not valued fairly. Most workers of the paint shop are women.”

Workers they received 1,700,000 rubles in June, July and August, though they earned 2,200,000 rubles per month in the beginning of the year.

Workers of paint shop Nr 91 filed a claim to plant director Alyaksandr Pukhavy expressing non-confidence in shop manager Amelkovich and asking to carry out an unscheduled inspection by the Labour and Salary Bureau and to increase wages to the level not low than the inflation rate (50%).

Henadz Ftyadynich says workers of the paint shop already faced problems before. Workers told the trade union leader that in 2008, when paint shop Nr 91 was run by Amelkovich, workers were deprived of seven additional holiday days for harmful working conditions. Workers gained an unscheduled assessment of workplaces in the beginning of 2011 and seven additional days of holiday were returned.

The trade union leader think low payments can be caused by activity of workers.

“We do not rule out it may be persecution by the shop authorities,” Henadz Fyanynich says.