Sailors' solidarity

Portoflot tug crews demand wages according to European standards

The second major strike in the last few months began yesterday in the port of St. Petersburg. This time, sailors and captains of tugs, icebreakers and tankers of the Port Fleet company declared war on stevedores. The strikers could partially paralyze the work of the port by completely stopping towing, but, according to the assurances of the strike committee activists themselves, they do not set themselves such a task. Their maximum program is to draw public attention to low wages. However, a few hours after the start of the strike, the administration of Port Fleet sent out a statement to the mass media under the heading “Strike activities are not being carried out in Port Fleet.” All tugs are operating as usual." The strike committee reacted to this statement with humor.

Yesterday morning, five of Portoflot's 15 tugs stopped. According to the chairman of the united trade union organization of the seaport, Gennady Zaitsev, “they tried to kick the strikers out of the ships, and bring strikebreakers in their place to start work.” Since this would most likely lead to the sailors being fired for absenteeism, they refused to leave the tugs and continued to stand watch. “We are doing the necessary minimum of work, the port will not stop working, although some problems, of course, will appear in its operation,” says the trade union leader. He is outraged that on average sailors in the company receive 8 thousand rubles, and captains - 15 thousand. “The salary of ordinary personnel is 15-17 thousand rubles. And for command personnel - up to 30 thousand rubles. per month,” Vladimir Solodyannikov, the administrative director of Portoflot, objects to him. However, the trade union ignores Mr. Solodyannikov’s statements, claiming that their colleagues “in Finland and Germany receive several times more.”

The strike promises to drag on: Gennady Zaitsev said yesterday that so far no one is even discussing the possibility of ending it. It can last until the strike is declared illegal by the Supreme Court. The fact is that the management of Portoflot appealed in court the legality of the action and on Monday the St. Petersburg City Court upheld this claim. However, the decision has not entered into legal force, which allows the sailors to go on strike. One of these days the trade union committee's complaint will go to the Supreme Court. “If this authority cancels the strike, we will decide what to do next, but our fight for wages will not end there in any case,” promises the trade union leader. But the company’s general director, Alexander Denisov, does not agree with him: “I am sure that 90% of the company’s employees do not want to go on strike at all. Almost every statement made by the union is untrue. The trade union committee and the strike are deliberately pushing Portoflot workers to take illegal actions.”

Dmitry ANDREEV, St. Petersburg