Ukrainian Miners Who Captured Administration Building Ask for Support!

"Miners of “Krasny Partisan” in the city of Sverdlovsk in Lugansk region of Ukraine who on December, 24 last year captured administration building of the enterprise (http://socialismkz.info/article/1356458894) addressed the workers of Ukraine and the CIS countries with solidarity request. Activists of independent labor union who were organizers of protest action still keep office of the director of mine and demand reemployment of all dismissed workers participating in strikes and in trade-union activity, they also call to general protest actions against employers and authorities of Ukraine. Socialists of Kazakhstan and trade-union activists of “"Zhanarta” completely support fight of the miners of Lugansk and soon will send protest letter", reports the Socialist Resistance of Kazakhstan.

All this surprisingly reminds the beginning of events in Zhanaozen when several thousand oil industry workers stayed in the square, struck, even starved in large quantities for 7 months, while international public even neighbouring – the Russian one - simply wanted to know nothing about it. The matter is that it didn’t want to know, but it used to know – FORUM.msk gave the whole series of materials about this unprecedented strike of the Kazakh workers.

Grandiose provocation happened then, disorders ended in inconceivable thing - mass execution of peace citizens by the army.

Here the world community "noticed" it: "it can't be true", if it’s really so "Nazarbayev is such a nice fellow"... The fact that it was obvious that Nazarbayev's mode for years has been transforming into rigid bourgeois dictatorship with all signs of the last - nobody wanted to notice it. DIDN'T WANT.

Situation in Ukraine today is very similar to the beginning of the events in Zhanaozen.

Every bourgeois mode during periods of relative prosperity plays liberalism and democracy, but at the time of crisis it surely comes down to dictatorship and state terror: it happened so both in America, in Germany and in France, not to mention Russia. Business of the mode in Ukraine is very bad, while it is going to stay in power for long. It already sent regulated by it Nazis to demonstrative actions (who are financed, by the way, not only by the Ukrainian, but also by the Russian oligarchs with the past connected with state security).

Thousands rebelled miners with obvious political, left requirements appeared in time:

"Where are you going to place tens thousands people which can appear without means for living? Perhaps you have already prepared crematoriums for us and now you only need to place us into concentration camps?"

"Time for the national action of civil disobedience against the power which has stolen our country came!"

It is high time to shake an iron fist of bourgeois dictatorship. As in the book of A. Tolstoy "The Road to Calvary": "let's drive them into cellars".

Then we will again woman like will shrug our shoulders: What’s up?!

Or nevertheless we will try using though weak forces to support the Ukrainian miners while the armed chasteners don't come to us?

Аnatoly Baranov, editor-in-chief of FORUM.msk

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Address of the miners of Sverdlovsk (Ukraine)

We, the workers of the mine "Krasny Partisan" of JSC DTEK Sverdlovantratsit, being members of Independent Labor Union of the city of Sverdlovsk, declare that our decision to go on extreme measures is dictated only by our desire to live in the fair country, observing laws and the Constitution of Ukraine.

It’s not enough for the authorities and the company JSC DTEK to rob miner's families, now they decided to give finally up coal branch of Ukraine as a bad job destroying mines unnecessary to them by way of change of organizational structure.

We have a question to R. Ahmetov (the owner of JSC DTEK) and governor V. Pristyuk:

"Where are you going to place tens thousands people which can appear without means for living? Perhaps you have already prepared crematoriums for us and now you only need to place us into concentration camps?"

We did everything possible to resolve this issue peacefully. We wrote addresses, put forward requirements. While the management of JSC DTEK Sverdlovantratsit inspired with a victory of Party of Regions on elections cynically refused to carry out dialogue with us and did everything for the fastest destruction of our labor union.

Today, on January 10, 2013, the members of independent miner's labor union as a part of its trade-union committee occupied office of the director of "Krasny Partisan" with the purpose to show the owner of JSC DTEK R. Ahmetov and the chairman of the Lugansk regional state administration V. Pristyuk our legal requirements:

1. To cancel the order of the manager general of JSC DTEK Sverdlovantratsit "About change of organizational structure …" No. 405 from 21.12.12 initiating mass dismissals. To stop forcing employees of the enterprise to sign letters of resignation;

2. To return employees of JSC DTEK Sverdlovantratsit lawful, thirteenth salary and to pay it regularly by the results of the year;

3. To recognize hours of actual daily stay of employees of JSC DTEK Sverdlovantratsit in the mine (9 – 10,5 hours) including time daily fixed by the employer working;

4. To enter tariff rates and office salaries at the rate of established level of minimum wage 1073 UAH increased by coefficient 3,234, then by coefficient - 1,2 and by 30% additionally for the workers occupied in underground works, according to the requirements of article 3 of the law of Ukraine "About increase of prestigiousness of miner's work";

5. To sign collective agreement with primary trade-union organizations of Independent Labor Union of the city of Sverdlovsk registered at the isolated enterprises of JSC DTEK Sverdlovantratsit;

6. To recognize publicly, at meetings of mines by relays legitimacy of Independent Labor Union of the city of Sverdlovsk;

7. To admit to work the member of Independent Miner’s Union electrician of underground site of the mine "Krasny Partisan” illegally taken off the job Sorokin A.N.;

8. To cancel order on dismissal of the chairman of primary trade-union organization of the Independent Miner’s Union of the mine "Krasny Partisan”, shift production supervisor Lozovoy S. P. as orders about disciplinary punishments weren't coordinated with the Independent Miner’s Union committee;

9. To pay according to art. 252 of the Labour Code of Ukraine average salary to the members of the independent Miner’s Union who using their legitimate right participated since January, 10, 2012 in assertion of their labor rights.

Our requirements are fair.

We will stay in the office of the director of the mine “Krasny Partisan” until we will hand over our requirements to the owner of JSC DTEK R. Ahmetov, the chairman of the Lugansk regional state administration V. Pristyuk and won't have guarantee of their full satisfaction.

We consider that the Cabinet of Ukraine, Federation of Labor Unions of Ukraine, Federation of Employers have to react to violations of our rights and arbitrariness of owners of the enterprise adequately.

In case of ignoring of our requirements we will understand that the state of Ukraine in the person of present political regime isn't capable to protect citizens from arbitrariness of the officials and criminals. In this case, the Independent Labor Union of the city of Sverdlovsk will be compelled to put forward political requirement to the President of Ukraine V. Yanukovych.

We also will address for support in PACE, OSCE, ILO, in a number of other international organizations and will insist on special investigation of human rights violations and labor legislation in Ukraine.

Miners of Sverdlovsk address all citizens of Ukraine, all politicians who considers themselves real oppositionists, representatives of mass media, leaders of public and trade-union organizations, simply honest citizens of our country to make public statement in our support in native cities.

Let the criminal power know that we are not lonely, that people of Ukraine are uniform and solidary.

There’s no difference between citizens of Lvov and Lugansk, we love Ukraine and we hate the criminal power.

The people of Ukraine, wake up!

The time of national action of civil disobedience against the power which has stolen our country come!

Chairman of the Independent Miner’s Union

К. Ilchenko

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