350 employees of Ford Motor?s Russian plant in Vsevolozhsk outside St. Petersburg have gone on warning strike demanding a 30-percent increase in wages and the introduction of a so-called 13th salary at the end of each year as labor productivity and inflation rates have increased, local media reported, MosNews.com reported.
The protestors warn executives that if they do not listen to their claims, they will hold a series of strikes. A so-called Italian strike ? when workers do not leave their work places even if bosses order them to do so ? is scheduled for next week if Wednesday?s action fails.
Ford?s Russian plant became the site of a conflict between the management and the workers in September. The negotiations with the labor union have brought no results, although the management said it hoped to avoid the strike.
Ford?s workers currently receive from 10,000 to 17,000 rubles ($350-$600) a month, and with overtime the pay comes up to 20,000 rubles ($700). The labor union, founded three years ago, unites 1,070 of the plant?s 1,700 employees, the majority of them factory workers.
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Russian Ford Employees On Strike
350 employees of Ford Motor's Russian plant in Vsevolozhsk outside St. Petersburg have gone on warning strike