Center for Civil Society International ([email protected])
Mon, 7 Sep 1998 16:53:18 -0700 (PDT)
This being Labor Day in the U.S., CivilSoc members may be interested in
the following item which comes from the International Federation of
Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) through the
Institute for Global Communications (IGC) member conference
"labr.newsline" It has been edited for brevity by CCSI.
Please note that the URL for the ICEM's award-winning "cybercampaign,"
is:
(English) http://www.icem.org/campaigns/no_pay_cc/index.html
(Russian) http://www.icem.org/campaigns/no_pay_cc_rus/index.html
...................................................................
YELTSIN MUST GO, RUSSIAN MINERS SAY. PROTESTS CALLED FOR 7 OCTOBER.
Russia's powerful mining unions are increasing their pressure for Boris
Yeltsin to step down. As wage arrears continue to mount, other Russian
unions are swinging behind the miners' call for a nationwide protest on 7
October, with the single aim of forcing the Russian President's early
resignation.
Unpaid wages owed to Russia's workers reached 70 billion redenominated
roubles by the end of July (US$10 billion at the exchange rates of late
July), and the backlog is continuing to grow.
Miners have been in the forefront of worker protests. Their action in
recent months has included work stoppages, the blockading of railway
lines and other communications and, since June, a continuous picket of
the White House, the Moscow headquarters of the Russian government.
One strong campaigner for Yeltsin's resignation is Alexander Sergeyev,
Chairman of the Miners' Independent Trade Union (NPG). Last month,
Sergeyev was arrested and detained for several hours in connection with
a blockade of the Trans-Siberian railway. "The miners lifted Boris
Yeltsin up," Sergeyev says, "and the miners will bring him back down."
That deep disillusionment is echoed in a long letter sent to Yeltsin
last week by the Independent Coal Employees' Federation of Russia
(Rosugleprof). The miners "supported the reforms started by the
President and the Russian government," Rosugleprof President I.I.
Mokhnachuk reminds Yeltsin. "However, today we have to discover that we
are paying for this credulity." Mokhnachuk tells Yeltsin that
Rosugleprof's extraordinary congress "suggested to Russia's industry
unions to hold an All-Russian protest action on 7 October 1998 with a
single demand: the early resignation of the President, who is not
capable of guaranteeing the constitutional rights of the Russian
citizens ... We call upon you, Boris Nikolayevich, to show civil courage
and to resign ... Otherwise, you will oblige us to lead a more decisive
struggle against the destruction of the coal industry, the pillage of
national resources, the impoverishment of the people and the demolition
of Russia."
Among other unions backing the miners' call is the influential Oil, Gas
and Construction Workers' Union (ROGWU). The chairs of its regions and
branches met in Moscow on 19 August and issued an appeal to the union's
members throughout Russia.
"The oil and gas sectors," they wrote, "which have been guaranteeing an
uninterrupted delivery of oil, gas and refined products to the national
economy during all the years of transition, and in doing so have in fact
been extending credit to the state, are letting their workers starve."
Amongst other things, the union calls on oil, gas and construction
workers to back the protest action on 7 October.
____________
The NPG, Rosugleprof and ROGWU are all affiliated to the
20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and
General Workers' Unions (ICEM).
The ICEM and its affiliated unions worldwide are pressing for payment of
the wages owed to Russia's workers. That pressure includes an
award-winning "cybercampaign" on the Web. The full texts of the Russian
unions' latest calls will be uploaded to the cybercampaign site
shortly, in the original Russian and in English translation.
Visit us on the Web at http://www.icem.org
ICEM
avenue Emile de Beco 109, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
tel.+32.2.6262020 fax +32.2.6484316
Internet: [email protected]
Editor: Ian Graham, Information Officer
Publisher: Vic Thorpe, General Secretary.
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