Interregional Union of Workers' Alliance

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The Interregional Workers' Alliance ( MPRA , Russian : Межрегиональный Профсоюз Рабочая Ассоциация ) is a Russian trade union founded in 2006 with around 2,500 members in around 40 companies in mainly international automotive groups. On January 10, 2018, the MPRA was the first trade union since the Soviet Union to be banned by the St. Petersburg City Court . The reason for this is money that has flowed to MPRA from the global trade union umbrella organization IndustriALL . In addition, the MPRA was politically active, which is not part of its statutes . The Interregional Trade Union Workers Alliance was Russia-wide and some are known internationally through its actions in the labor dispute in previous years, such as 2007 permanent than 25 days strike in the Ford -Werk in Vsevolozhsk run up a wage increase from 16 to 21 percent.

history

The Interregional Union of Workers' Alliance was founded in 2006 by Aleksey Etmanov, who had been working as a welder at the Ford plant in Vsevolozhsk near St. Petersburg since 2003 . In the year before the MPRA was founded, Etmanow was a guest of Brazilian Ford workers and first founded a company union, which then became the MPRA in 2006. Even before her first birthday, the union managed to raise its wages by between 14 and 17 percent through “go-slow strikes”. In the following year, the MPRA argued for 25 days to further raise the minimum wage from 450 to 550 (according to other sources, an average of 625) euros for factory workers, as inflation in Russia at that time was around 9 percent. Of the 2,000 employees at the time, 1,500 were unionized and on strike . The branch of the automotive supplier Benteler was also on strike, sometimes police officers from the OMON special unit, which was subordinate to the Russian Ministry of the Interior, were present to support plant security , the leading union representative was dismissed, but later legal proceedings in which Benteler wanted to declare the strike illegal.

Ban 2018

On January 10, 2018, the MPRA was banned by the St. Petersburg City Court. Since the MPRA received financial support from the international trade union umbrella organization IndustriALL , the union should have registered as a “foreign agent” according to the law on non-governmental organizations. After the court ruling, around 470,000 euros flowed to the MPRA. According to the MPRA, it pays an annual membership fee of 1,470 to 3,700 euros to IndustrieALL. In opposite directions, only 5,147 euros were transferred to finance training for members.

Another decisive factor behind the ban was the fact that the MPRA carried out a campaign to support professional drivers who organized a self-organized protest against a toll road and distributed an appeal against the closure of hospitals in Moscow. Finally, a collection of signatures carried out in 2016 was held for a statutory link between wages and the inflation rate.

The MPRA thus carries out a “political activity” that is not intended for trade unions. Aleksey Etmanov attributes the ban proceedings to the long-running conflict with the governor of the Kaluga region, Anatoly Artamanov. Artamanow has transformed the region into a special economic zone in which foreign companies set up branches with massive tax breaks. Union involvement inhibits the willingness to invest.

In January 2018, Etmanov announced proceedings before Russia's Supreme Court to review the union, and the MPRA would be re-established if necessary. The view of the alleged activities as "political action" is not tenable, since all trade union actions have a corresponding character. IndustrieALL's payments to MPRA are also protected by the Convention of the International Labor Organization .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ford plant in Russia is suing workers on strike for damages , sputniknews.com, October 5, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  2. ↑ a b Ulrich Heyden : Russian governor follows the Chinese model , Telepolis , December 1, 2012. Retrieved on April 6, 2018.
  3. ^ Ulrich Heyden: Strike in the Russian automobile industry , eurasischesmagazin.de. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  4. ↑ Ulrich Heyden: Union as a henchman for a colorful revolution? , rubikon.news, January 19, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  5. ↑ Ulrich Heyden: Russia: What is behind the ban on the independent trade union "MPRA"? , Telepolis , January 17, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.