Union claims widespread protest in a desperate effort to force wage increases and better employee rights (391 words)

Published: 10/11/2001

According to Sergey Kovalev, Head of the Russian air dispatcher's trade union, air dispatchers working for the 50 affiliated companies of Air Traffic Control State Corporation (ATCSC) began their threatened hunger strike on 10th October, demanding both wage increases and changes in the Russian labour code. Kovalev says the strike has been provoked by the ATCSC's failure to abide by an agreement brokered by the Ministry of Transportation between the two sides in June 2001. He claims that the ATCSC refuses to meet this agreement or to sign an agreement regarding wage levels for 2001-2003. This has resulted in the trade union going to the Arbitrage Court, which sided with the unions, but neglected to specify how much they should be paid. The ATCSC therefore agreed to increase wages by 10-20%: well below the demand for at least 50%. Kovalev further alleges that the ATCSC's revenues have increased significantly, with profits rising by 800% in ruble terms in 2000 over 1998 but he complains that, by contrast, air dispatchers' ruble salaries increased only 66% and that the last increase was back in February 1999. The trade unions hope that the state will put the ATCSC under pressure to settle more generously, given the possibility of weakened air traffic control staff in charge of the country's skies. The Ministry of Transportation, which controls the ATCSC, however, disputes the union's claims of "widespread" strike action, although perhaps it is simply too early to tell, despite claims by Kovalev of air traffic staff refusing to eat in Yakutya, Blagoveshchensk, Irkutsk, Tyumen, Surgut, Bratsk, Chelyabinsk, Perm, Sochi and Vologda. In Chelyabinsk, 40 air dispatchers out of 70 started their hunger protests, demanding immediate increases in their $60 a month salaries. According to Vladimir Nikulin, Deputy General Director of Western Siberia Air Navigation, not everybody has joined the strike, with dispatchers in Tyumen and Krasnoyarsk not taking part, although several dispatchers in Omsk, Tomsk and Kolpashevo are reported to be participating in the protest. Kovalev believes that the Ministry and the ATCSC have allowed the dispute to drag on since June in an effort allow the introduction of the new labour code that he fears will further reduce the air dispatchers' negotiating rights.

Article ID: 2818