Overview of the labor movement in the second half of May 2020

Aircraft builders strike in Ulyanovsk

In mid-May 2020, a protest action by workers dissatisfied with a significant reduction in wages began at a factory that produces military transport aircraft. The employees of the enterprise were actually transferred to piecework earnings. As a result, many earned a monthly income slightly higher than the minimum wage.

Workers were forced to sign an agreement to reduce earnings by 50 percent, and those who refused to do so were cynically invited to quit at their own request. Discontent was already ripening among the employees of the enterprise due to low wages, and the instructions of the authorities to cut their salaries by half became the last straw in the patience of aircraft manufacturers.



In the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug, protesters blocked the road

On May 19, in Nefteyugansk, workers and other employees of the local logistics center came out to protest, expressing dissatisfaction with the conditions and wages. They blocked the passage of trucks in the surrounding area.

Workers thus expressed their dissatisfaction with the organization of working conditions. In addition, protesters announced a decrease in their salaries while maintaining the volume of work performed. The strikers demanded higher wages and better working conditions.


Protest in the Kuril Islands

On May 16, workers at the Kuril Fisherman company went on strike on Shikotan Island because of low wages. They said that since February they have received 30-35 thousand rubles a month under the most difficult working conditions and the high cost of essential goods.

Two brigades of more than 150 people took part in the protest. The strikers put forward demands to increase the tariff rate, increase the guaranteed wage to 65 thousand rubles, and recalculate it from the beginning of the year.

In addition, the strikers are dissatisfied with housing for specialists from other regions, the unsatisfactory quality of drinking water and its shortage, and poor transport accessibility.



Strike in Vladivostok

In mid-May, a strike of truck drivers began to take out garbage from the Leninsky and Pervomaisky districts of the city.

The main reason for the protest is the delay in the payment of due earnings. The debt for March alone to employees of the enterprise amounted to more than seven million rubles. Payments were only for January and February. Since then no money has been received.



Abroad

A mass protest against hunger and poverty took place in the capital of Chile

May 19, 2020 at least a thousand residents took to the streets of Santiago. Thus, they expressed their protest against hunger and poverty, caused in large part by “quarantine measures”. Barricades grew on some streets of the Chilean capital.

The protest resulted in clashes with the police. A water cannon was even used to disperse the demonstrators, but after its use, the demonstrators quickly gathered again in another part of the city.



In France resumed the crowded demonstrations of "Yellow vests"

On May 16, thousands of participants in the Yellow Vests protest movement again took to the streets, opposing the policies of the president and the government.

Several groups of activists appeared in the center of Toulouse and Nantes. Manifestations took place in Lyon, Saint-Nazaire and other cities.

Most people gathered in Montpellier. During clashes with the police, a woman was injured.



Demonstration in Germany

On May 19, seasonal agricultural workers from Romania protested in Bonn against low wages and long hours. Protesters marched around the city, reaching the Romanian consulate. They stated that they did not receive a salary for April, and the Romanian authorities did nothing to help them. “German asparagus smells of exploitation,” one protester said.

Seasonal agricultural workers from Romania and other countries of Central and Southeast Europe went to Germany to pick fruits and vegetables. But rainbow illusions collapsed. Visitors received a long working day, low wages and poor working conditions.



Weekly strike in Nigeria

On May 25, local health workers announced a protest rally in Kaduna. On this day, they began a seven-day warning strike. During the strike, they demanded that they return 25 percent of the salary that the state government withheld in April 2020. Trade unions claim that the government violated the laws adopted in the country by this action, in particular article 5 of the Labor Law.

The strike was attended by 11 thousand health workers.

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