VAZ and Social Outbreak

Source: "Workers' Democracy"

It's sad but we should come back to AVTOVAZ theme again. Again dismissals, again salary decrease, again reprisals against active workers. Manufacture collapses right in front of our eyes, the factory produces defect goods, cars are not in demand and the management reduces staff and increases production plans. Social intensity in the city grows and very soon country will again start talking about Tolyatti...

Non stop job cut

Workers of VAZ informed edition of the "Workers' Democracy" that new mass job cuts already takes place in the factory. Mainly they occur among Line Assembly Work Department (conveyer assembly - the biggest factory manufacture) where it's supposed to leave one from three conveyors and to reduce, accordingly, 2/3 of workers. At that they don't want to dismiss under the article "reduction". The heads prefer to find faults with the most insignificant (frequently imaginary) infringements of the labor schedule, to write summary punishment and to bring the worker to dismissal after a set of infringements. Many workers having received the first sanction prefer to leave by themselves as they are afraid to spoil the work book. This phenomenon already has mass character - hundreds persons leave compulsorily but the basic wave of dismissals is expected right after New Year.

Except Line Assembly Work Department the workers of preproduction department and metallurgy wait for job cut. The same manufactures, as well as all repair and auxiliary services, after New Year should finally leave AVTOVAZ, after it they hardly will continue their existence as high-grade manufactures. We will remind that Production Technology Department, being about one year ago deduced from the structure of VAZ, balances on the verge of bankruptcy in absence of orders, the salary there is low even in relation to VAZ, there's no social help there.

Innovations in salary payment

Troubles of factory workers are connected not only with compulsions to leave the factory. Workers don't receive money for their work on Saturdays in double size - so it's impossible now to earn additionally for butter to bread. Real income of workers because of it has decreased twice! You can, of course, don't go to work on Saturdays for unary payment - but production plans grow every month so it's unreal to cope with them during standard 40-hour week. After all it is necessary to cope with plans qualitatively. If you don't fulfill plan - you don't have bonus, if you spoil something - you don't have bonus. Taking into account that bonus of many workers makes half of salary - it's unreal to live without it. So, no matter if you want it or not, it's necessary to work in overtime and on Saturdays - now free of charge.

Chiefs end up in a bad way, workers suffer

Certainly, all these horrors are caused not by personal bitchiness of management but in deep, though, alas, current and natural industrial crisis. The factory shouldn't reorient manufacture under "Lada Granta", turning off production of "Kalina", "Samara" and stopping production of "classic". As we remember, administration of the factory did it one year ago. Today "Granta" appeared, to put it mildly, not hot-sold car. After all the price of this "miracle" reads off scale of 350 thousand roubles, while actual quality is worse, than of "classic". In its previous publications "WD" already stated doubts in viability of "Granta" - this hybrid of "Kalina" and "Logan". The validity, alas, surpasses our most gloomy forecasts - "Granta" turn out to have a lot of defects. It happens not because workers are ham-handed. The mere idea of hybrid "Granta" initially was rather doubtful, more than that it was developed and batch production started. Well, being made hastily, as you know, looks... It's a shock that the workers are compelled to pay off for the stupidity of the management. Now - penalties, tomorrow - dismissal.

The besieged fortress "Unity"

"Our small besieged fortress", - active workers of "Unity" (enters Interregional Trade Union of Car Industry Workers) name their trade union. The quantity of members of the trade union of VAZ is estimated in hundreds people and people continue to leave organization. All these compulsions to dismissal and other reprisals fall on heads of active workers of "Unity" first of all - many don't stand the pressure. Those who remain in the organization, desperately resist, defending the rights of both their companions and the workers of the factory - not members of the trade union. But the number of active workers is small, therefore they already have no victories - only defense. Now Olga Bojko appeared on the edge of opposition, Olga is the painter from preproduction department, the active worker of "Unity", the heroine of many our publications.

Recently Olga became safety executive from trade union "Unity". She at once started revealing numerous infringements supposed by the employer, in particular on providing of observance of technical process. After all it - infringement of the technical process provoked by the employer - is the main reason of dismissal of the workers. Olga began creating problem to the management, even in spite of the fact that the management completely ignored her inquiries, didn't answer her letters. Bojko started writing to labour inspection and the management started hunting her. At first the heads intimidated Olga's colleagues to such an extend that those are afraid to talk to her publicly. Now they try to dismiss Olga on a set of three summary punishments fabricated by the employer: 2 times Olga worked without respirator which isn't supposed following technical process during the given operation, the third nip - a door of a car broke after passing of Olga's and 3 (!) more sites - certainly they accused Bojko of it without any check.

Olga was fined in the sum of 1400 roubles to compensate last "infringement". On November, 21st there will be a court session under appeal of the second punishment, however already now a judge doesn't make an impression of impartial and competent person. Companions from trade union support Olga, but their forces are not enough to cope with the repressive machinery of VAZ. Editorial staff of "WD" expresses comrade Bojko solidarity and incurs obligation to give detailed coverage both of this scandalous story and situation on VAZ as a whole in the nearest issues.

***
Bourgeois with their "optimization" ruined VAZ, the same way they ruined many other factories and manufactures in our country. Workers are in awful position: living in poverty, grounded down by overtime work, intimidated, separated. Small working trade union is almost crushed by reprisals. It seems reaction triumphs... But there's limit to everything, even to human patience. In 2009 the patience of citizens of Tolyatti almost came to the end. Bourgeois were frightened then, then they temporarily receded having pretended that they understood all, they calmed people down with promises, lulled them with fairy tales about effective innovations, etc. Nevertheless they understood nothing in 2009. They didn't understand that people are not cattle, people don't like to be treated like that.

Patience of the workers comes to a close, nobody will believe in bourgeois fairy tales again and agree with putins-chemizovs-komarovs.

There's no theme to discuss with them!

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