>...I think it would be more useful if Svetlana informed the list about >the activities of her organisation in Samara... > >Mark Well, I shall tell the members of the list about my organisation`s activity and not only in Samara because Interregional Association of the Workers Trade Union "Defense of Labor" is All-Russian trade union. I suppose it is interesting for our Western comrades therefore I shall detail the story. The Workers trade union "Defense" (at present "Defense of Labor") has been acting since 1992, it has organizations in 45 regions of Russia and numbers nearly 4000 members now. Many Russian leftists develope trade union "Defense" which differs from old, so called "official" trade unions (FNPR), head by Shmakov that the membership of representatives of administration is forbidden in "Defense" therefore it can really and rezolutely fight for labour rights of workers. The second difference is absence of bureaucracy in our trade union because all organisations as a rule are head by three co-chairmen with equal powers, realizing leadership in turn. And the third difference is that trade union "Defense" does not limit its activity only by economic requests, and puts forward also political anticapitalist ones. The advanced edge of working movement today is Astrakhan organization of "Defense". There our comrades have ramified web of workers organizations, acting at 50 plants of the Astrakhan area. Astrakhan "Defense" achieves significant successes - payment of the multimonth delayed salary, restoration of comrades illegally dismissed from plants, realization of checks of finansical activity of the enterprises including of labour collective (factory "Astrakhanpromstroi"), removal of the gone too far directors, prevention of liquidation of the enterprises (factory SpetsGBI), pay rise (for example, last summer the workers of all lift companies of Astrakhan, who total are members of "Defence", have achieved removal of the director of the company RUS OTIS, and also the pay rising on 70% by meanse of threat of strike and negotiations with the Moscow representative of italian centre of this international firm, in all three enterprices were made the collective agreements). "Defence" uses radical methods of struggle (blocking of streets, office buildings, occuping of the plants), on which workers are compelled to go because of multimonth delay of the salary, intentions of administration to close the plants or to carry out mass dismissals etc. This is the fourth distinguishing feature of our organisation. No wonder, that such activity does not bring pleasure to authorities and directors of plants. Eight active workers of Astrakhan "Defence", including the co-chairman of Astrakhan "Defence" at present the deputy of the State Duma of Russian Federation Oleg Shein, were subjected to attacks. In March of 1999 Oleg Maksakov, one of the best and most talented workers leaders was cowardly murdered by gunshots in the back at the age of 36 by criminals paid by the Russian bourgeoisie. He was the beloved leader of Astrakhan proletariat, the Co-chairman of the regional branch of the Trade Union Alliance "Zashchita Truda/ Defense of Labor". He was the organizer of all mass actions of the protest and participated together with Oleg Shein in investigation of financial frauds of the directors of the enterprises. Oleg Maksakov`s photo you can find at http://www.geocities.com/rosskommuna/maksakov.html On Web-page of "Defence" you will find an information about actions of "Defence" in different cities - Moscow, Astrakhan, Samara, Ufa. http://www.geocities.com/rosskommuna/zashchita.html For example, in Moscow at the bearing factory the organization of "Defense" numbering only 23 workers has achieved through court holding by administration of the request of acting Labour Code about granting additional leave to the workers occupied in harmful working conditions - for all workers of the factory. There is the large organization of "Defense" (1200 workers and engineers) at federal nuclear centre in Arzamas-16, where our comrades achieved conclusion the progressive collective agreement with administration without any discrimination in comparison with old trade union. The most remarkable and succesful action organized by trade union "Defense" took place in September, 2000 Ç. in Astrakhan where the radical labor leader and the deputy of the State Duma Oleg Shein with 200 hundred chemical workers and local communities have been blocked the highway Astrakhan-Aksaraisk leading to the huge gas processing plant during 5 days. They demanded from the regional government to stop the deadly contamination of the working class settlements by the giant gas monopoly Gazprom and to provide their families with housing in safe areas. And at the end of a 5-day long, round-the clock highway blockade they won the complete victory. Firstly the communal tariffs (rent and rates) were cut in half. And also, the workers had now 320 homes, 20 to be provided within weeks, the rest during 2001. Allocation of all the homes was to be under complete control of the new "community soviets". There was no charges, arrests, nor wage deductions for any of the actions taken by the Gazprom workers or anyone else in connection with the 5 day blockade in according to the agreement signed by regional authorities, director of Gazprom and "community soviets" http://www.geocities.com/rosskommuna/gazprom.html#pobeda The active workers of "Defence", passing school of strike struggle grow in understanding of political problems step by step. In different cities the active workers of "Defense" issue the newspapers and newsletters, in which they write about necessity of class organization of the workers and political struggle for socializm alongside with trade union problems. The trade union "Defense" is the initiator of campaign against the governmental draft of the Labour Code introduced in the State Duma in 1998 and now being supported by president Putin. If adopted, this Labor Code will destroy the legal foundations of trade union activities on the job and will close all legal venues for defending the rights of workers. Independent workers' organizations the Alliance of Trade Unions "Defense" and others - capable of combating the bourgeoisie will be liquidated. This defeat of Russian workers will have grave consequences for the outcome of the working class struggles all over the world. "Defense" has been fighting against this Labor Code draft for the last four years and so far we have managed to prevent it from passing. We have organized the All-Russian Campaign in Defense of the Labor Code as a vehicle for a nationwide mobilization of the working class. On May 17, the Committee organized a Day of United Actions with the following demands: "No - to the Government's Labor Code, Short-Time Contracts, and the Arbitrariness of "Owners" and Bureaucrats!" "Yes - to the Control of Workers' Collectives in the Enterprise!" That day, in spite of the unusually cold weather and snow, approximately 300,000 workers across Russia participated in protests against this vicious attack on their rights. http://www.geocities.com/rosskommuna/kzot/eng.html#17 The whistles of docks and ports in Vladivostok, Vostochni, Nakhodka, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Magadan, Archangelsk, Murmansk and Novorossiisk. At Yasnogorsk machine-building plant, whose courageous workers became famous when their long militant occupation strike won unprecedented gains, 3500 workers stopped working. In Kursk and Vladivostok, demonstrations were held despite being banned by the authorities. The key problem now is to break the information blockade organized by the Russian Government around this issue, to expose this criminal conspiracy against the people, and provide as much visibility to our Campaign as possible. To this end we have established a special web site. To make information about our Campaign more accessible to the foreign readers, our site has pages in English, German, and Spanish, as well as in Russian: http://www.geocities.com/rosskommuna/kzot/rus.html http://www.geocities.com/rosskommuna/kzot/eng.html http://www.geocities.com/rosskommuna/kzot/deutsch.html http://www.geocities.com/rosskommuna/kzot/espanol.html In a counterbalance to the governmental draft of the Labour Code trade union "Defense" and Fund of Workers Academy have developed the alternate draft of the Labour Code, expanding the right of the workers. This draft was introduced into the State Duma in 1998 by the deputy Avaliani and now is supported by the leader of trade union "Defense" the deputy of State Duma Oleg Shein. Hundreds letters and cables from labour collectives in support of this draft of Labour Code (KZoT) were sent to the State Duma. As I am not only a co-chairwomen of Samara branch of Russian Association of the Workers Trade Union "Defense of Labor", but the secretary of "Defense of Labor" to international relations and organizing solidarity actions, I participated at the VII International Conference of Labour Unions in Geneva on June, 11, 2000 and made the report "The Russian Government Plans to Abolish Fundamental Labor Rights": http://www.geocities.com/rosskommuna/kzot/eng.html ("news"), http://www.geocities.com/rosskommuna/kzot/dokladeng.html The Conference sent telegram to Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and to the State Duma, signed by trade union leaders of 40 countries. Tens of thousands of people participated in the All-Russian Action against governmental Labour Code on December 1, organized by the Coordinating Commitee ("Defense" is a member of it). Picketing and meetings in large cities took placed, the trade union of the dockers has carried out ten-minute stopping of work in all sea ports of Russia. The consideration of Labour Cod drafts by the State Duma was postponed since December 21, 2000 for March, 2001. More difficult struggle is in store. Therefore international solidarity with Russian workers, international pressure on Russian authorities is very important for our struggle. As to Samara, our organization of trade union "Defense of labour" with my personal participation organized strike with a demand of payment of the salary delayed on nine months at the aerodrome of airplan factory. The workers and engineers redfused to fulfil takeoff and landing of airplanes despite of threats of using of police against them and have been blocking a take-off and landing band to not permit to break the strike. It ended with payment of money. At the Samara metal plant we had been preventing for half a year mass dismissal of 1000 workers by means of meetings, picketing of regional authorities, cancellations of some illegal orders about lowering the salary. "Defense" achieved the payment of fixed indemnification while dismissial. On machine-building plant named after Tarasov the trade union "Defense" realized several successful strikes with demand to pay delayed salary, now workers get it regularly. At this factory we regularly distribute the newspapares with materials, which should promote development of class self-consciousness of the workers. In Samara on May, 17, the Day of All-Russian action in defense of acting Labour Code the trade union "Defense" organized meeting in industrial region of Samara. 12000 copies of newspapers with revealing the antilabour policy of government and bourgeois class nature of present state, which try to abolish basic labour rights were distributed at large industrial plants in Samara. On December 1, we realized picketing of the office of the deputy of the State Duma Mrs. Lekareva with demand to not vote for three antilabour drafts of Labour Code. Models of these three drafts were burnt down in public. Now I would like to ask Mark Johnes: please, tell us about your practical activity in Great Britain, where you live, if I am not mistaken. Best wishes, Svetlana Baiborodova _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
