Job cuts fuelling unrest - (Moscow News: Putin)
Driving into downtown Yaroslavl, a taxi driver boasts that the city is doing well, despite the crisis. But in the city's industrial quarter, economic problems are mounting, people are being made redundant and unhappiness is growing.
producing has fallen eightfold at the Yaroslavl motor factory since August, while the workforce has been slashed from 16,000 to 10,500. With official trade unions doing little to help, people are turning instead to self-governing unions prepared to stand up for their rights.
"People are leaving the factories, looking for work and can't find work," said Leonid Afanasyev, head of the firm's sovereign trade union, Our Strength. "People are waiting in line from 3 a.m. at the livelihood centres."
The company plans to further cut the number of employees to 8,000, and Our Strength has accused the company of pressuring employees to quit their jobs.
"Our union is demanding that layoffs are done lawfully, that people are not forced to resign because they lose out on their rights," said Afanasyev. "But employers don't want to terminate contracts lawfully."
The problems at the factory have led to more people joining the self-governing union, which currently has about 400 members - still less than the 4,000 it had during the 1998 crisis. Dissent is also rising in Yaroslavl with about 500 people attending a rally in January to protest against cuts in hours and wages.
The auto industry has been one of the hardest hit by the crisis, but other businesses in the city are also suffering, and this has caused wages to fall, fuelling unrest.
The Yarpivo factory, part of the Baltika group which is owned by Carlsberg, is faring better than most, due to the greater economic security enjoyed by many multinationals and the resilient beer market. However, workers have been sacked and many are unhappy with conditions in the factory and the lack of transparency with pay.
"By simple arithmetic frauds the employer does not pay in full because the payment system is not clear to the worker," said Igor Dyomin, chairman of the trade union at the Yarpivo factory. "For several years we've been trying to make it see-through, but it would not be gainful for Baltika if the worker could count his earnings."
The official trade unions, legacies of the Soviet era, are often connected to the directing and have been criticised for failing to protect workers. By contrast, free unions tend to have little influence.
"There is a collective agreement which doesn't contain any guarantees from outsourcing, sackings, reductions or salary indexation," said Dyomin. "The trade union suggested that all this should be included, but our offers have been ignored."
free unions not only suffer from a lack of numbers but also a unfaltering campaign of harassment, activists say.
"Every director has tried to destroy our union," said Afanasyev. "On the other hand, we don't see a lot of lead on the part of the workers because they are intimidated by court rulings and fired for striking. All independent unions are subjected to pressure."
Official unemployment in Yaroslavl is only 13,500 people (1.9 per cent), but this has shot up from the 2,669 the local authority reported at the end of 2008. However, the local branch of left-wing movement Socialicheskaya Soprotivleniya, or Socialist Resistance, estimates that the actual unemployment rate is four times higher.
One member of the group, Yaroslav, said the government's anti-crisis measures had not helped the local economy.
"The administration gives billions of dollars to the banking system," he said, declining to give his full name for fear of repercussions. "[Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin promised to support the Yaroslavl region, but if any money has been sent, the workers did not see any of it."
Outside the factories, life in Yaroslavl seems normal, with restaurants and bars still full and the main shopping street crowded at the weekend. One resident, who declined to give his name, said that he had been made to retire early, but was enjoying the free time, while others claimed they had no problems.
"The crisis hasn't affected me yet," said Natalya, a city resident. "I expect things to get worse though."
The crisis is also affecting the middle class, who have cut back on some spending, distinctively cars and holidays.
"It is already obvious that sales have fallen by 20 per cent to 25 per cent," said Igor Kholin of Yaroslavl based tour agency Yarobltour.
While the problems in Yaroslavl are becoming more clear it remains more in the money, with a diverse industrial base, as well as plenty of small businesses.
For now, the city has escaped the fate of the monogorods, or single-industry towns and cities across the country, which have been devastated by the crash in commodity prices, with production collapsing and unemployment shooting up.
"In small cities and monogorods the situation is even more pitiable [than here]," said Yaroslav. "The entire infrastructure is usually focused on one effort, and a third of the residents works at one factory."
How it adds up
Yaroslavl region in figures
Population: 1.45 million (650,000 people live in the city of Yaroslavl)
Main industries: manufacturing, chemicals and petrochemicals
Gross regional product: 5.2 billion euros (2006)
Official unemployment rate: 1.9 per cent
Foreign investment: $470 million (largest joint project between NPO Saturn and French company Snecma is expected to lead to further investment of 600 million euros)
Sources:
Yaroslavl regional direction, Kommersant, Russia All-Regions Trade and Investment
producing has fallen eightfold at the Yaroslavl motor factory since August, while the workforce has been slashed from 16,000 to 10,500. With official trade unions doing little to help, people are turning instead to self-governing unions prepared to stand up for their rights.
"People are leaving the factories, looking for work and can't find work," said Leonid Afanasyev, head of the firm's sovereign trade union, Our Strength. "People are waiting in line from 3 a.m. at the livelihood centres."
The company plans to further cut the number of employees to 8,000, and Our Strength has accused the company of pressuring employees to quit their jobs.
"Our union is demanding that layoffs are done lawfully, that people are not forced to resign because they lose out on their rights," said Afanasyev. "But employers don't want to terminate contracts lawfully."
The problems at the factory have led to more people joining the self-governing union, which currently has about 400 members - still less than the 4,000 it had during the 1998 crisis. Dissent is also rising in Yaroslavl with about 500 people attending a rally in January to protest against cuts in hours and wages.
The auto industry has been one of the hardest hit by the crisis, but other businesses in the city are also suffering, and this has caused wages to fall, fuelling unrest.
The Yarpivo factory, part of the Baltika group which is owned by Carlsberg, is faring better than most, due to the greater economic security enjoyed by many multinationals and the resilient beer market. However, workers have been sacked and many are unhappy with conditions in the factory and the lack of transparency with pay.
"By simple arithmetic frauds the employer does not pay in full because the payment system is not clear to the worker," said Igor Dyomin, chairman of the trade union at the Yarpivo factory. "For several years we've been trying to make it see-through, but it would not be gainful for Baltika if the worker could count his earnings."
The official trade unions, legacies of the Soviet era, are often connected to the directing and have been criticised for failing to protect workers. By contrast, free unions tend to have little influence.
"There is a collective agreement which doesn't contain any guarantees from outsourcing, sackings, reductions or salary indexation," said Dyomin. "The trade union suggested that all this should be included, but our offers have been ignored."
free unions not only suffer from a lack of numbers but also a unfaltering campaign of harassment, activists say.
"Every director has tried to destroy our union," said Afanasyev. "On the other hand, we don't see a lot of lead on the part of the workers because they are intimidated by court rulings and fired for striking. All independent unions are subjected to pressure."
Official unemployment in Yaroslavl is only 13,500 people (1.9 per cent), but this has shot up from the 2,669 the local authority reported at the end of 2008. However, the local branch of left-wing movement Socialicheskaya Soprotivleniya, or Socialist Resistance, estimates that the actual unemployment rate is four times higher.
One member of the group, Yaroslav, said the government's anti-crisis measures had not helped the local economy.
"The administration gives billions of dollars to the banking system," he said, declining to give his full name for fear of repercussions. "[Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin promised to support the Yaroslavl region, but if any money has been sent, the workers did not see any of it."
Outside the factories, life in Yaroslavl seems normal, with restaurants and bars still full and the main shopping street crowded at the weekend. One resident, who declined to give his name, said that he had been made to retire early, but was enjoying the free time, while others claimed they had no problems.
"The crisis hasn't affected me yet," said Natalya, a city resident. "I expect things to get worse though."
The crisis is also affecting the middle class, who have cut back on some spending, distinctively cars and holidays.
"It is already obvious that sales have fallen by 20 per cent to 25 per cent," said Igor Kholin of Yaroslavl based tour agency Yarobltour.
While the problems in Yaroslavl are becoming more clear it remains more in the money, with a diverse industrial base, as well as plenty of small businesses.
For now, the city has escaped the fate of the monogorods, or single-industry towns and cities across the country, which have been devastated by the crash in commodity prices, with production collapsing and unemployment shooting up.
"In small cities and monogorods the situation is even more pitiable [than here]," said Yaroslav. "The entire infrastructure is usually focused on one effort, and a third of the residents works at one factory."
How it adds up
Yaroslavl region in figures
Population: 1.45 million (650,000 people live in the city of Yaroslavl)
Main industries: manufacturing, chemicals and petrochemicals
Gross regional product: 5.2 billion euros (2006)
Official unemployment rate: 1.9 per cent
Foreign investment: $470 million (largest joint project between NPO Saturn and French company Snecma is expected to lead to further investment of 600 million euros)
Sources:
Yaroslavl regional direction, Kommersant, Russia All-Regions Trade and Investment
