Ford Workers Stay on Strike Amid Deadlock

Negotiations between Ford and striking workers at the company’s plant in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Oblast, failed on Monday.

“We haven’t agreed on anything,” Alexei Etmanov, head of the plant’s trade union, said.

“The administration said they were ready to talk about a pay rise but refused to give any figures before the strike is over. In this situation we decided to continue the strike,” Etmanov said.

On Monday about 300-350 workers continued the strike that began last Tuesday, Etmanov said. He said the workers will also continue to picket the building during the day.

The strike has hit the plant, where the assembly line normally produces 300 cars a day, for a week and the production lines have not been in operation during this time.

On Thursday night the trade union made the decision to temporarily stop the strike at midnight and to begin a new one at the same hour, Etmanov said.

“We needed to do this because of the Labor Code,” Etmanov sad.

At the same time, strikers did not change their demands for a 30 percent pay rise and the cutting of the night shift by an hour, as well other demands.

About 1,500 Ford workers participated in the strike during its first two days. However, about 950 workers from the plant’s 2,200 employees did not agree to join the strike, and 276 were out of action for other reasons.

On Thrusday, the trade union handed the management about 500 applications of refusal to take part in the strike.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party expressed support for the strike.

“The Communist party strongly supports the fair demands of Ford plant’s workers,” said Gennady Zyuganov, Comminist Party leader, the party’s press service reported.

“The economic situation of the company allows it to completely fulfil the workers’ demands. The cheepness of the cars produced at the plant is conditioned by underpaying the workers who make them. This is the result of extra exploitation,” Zyuganov said.

The company will not pay wages to workers on strike in accordance with the Labor Code, while workers who refused to strike receive two-thirds of their daily pay.

However, Ford dealers in Russia won’t suffer a shortage of cars because of the strike, Yekaterina Kulinenko, Ford’s spokeswoman, Interfax said.

“Dealers have got quite enough Ford Focus cars made in Europe. Those, who ordered the cars made in Russia, will receive them on time, no matter how many days the strike goes on for,” Kulinenko said.

The current strike is a continuation of a preventive strike held by the plant’s workers and the trade union on Nov. 7. The trade union said they decided to go on strike after negotiations they held from July 9 through Oct. 9 failed.

Workers at the plant also staged a 24-hour strike on Feb.14-15 this year. At that time the strike resulted in the signing of a year-long collective agreement.

However, a number of social defense measures meant for workers were not taken into account in that agreement.