Yes--to Workers' Law of Labor!
deutsch | espanol | russian
|
|
| ? |
|
No
to Putin's Labor Code of Slavery! Yes--to Workers' Law of Labor! |
Published
by the Extraordinary Committee in Defense of Labor deutsch | espanol | russian |
| news | mobilization | enemies of labor | international solidarity | protest! | our guestbook |
The Government of Russia
is preparing to eliminate labor rights of citizens.
The critical moment in the struggle for the workers’ Labor Code has
arrived.
Your support is urgently needed!
8 June 2001
Three years ago, the Russian Government, fulfilling
the will of the Russian capitalists and the
International Monetary Fund, attempted to eliminate the existing Codex
of Labor Law, which the
fighting workers’ organizations used as a weapon against the arbitrary
rule of their new masters.
Now the government is forcing the acceptance in the State Duma of a
barbarian bill on the Labor
Codex, which throws Labor legislation in Russia back to the beginning
of the 20th century. It
legislates the 12-hour working day, overtime without compensation, night
work for pregnant
women and the complete lack of rights for the unions. National
actions of protest of the
independent unions, which were carried out in 1999 and 2000, permitted
the previous attacks of the
government to be beaten back, and to postpone the vote in the State
Duma on passage of the new
Labor Code. more
There`s
a place, Comrade for you, March with us in the workers` united front,
For
you are a worker too.
|
TO
ALL PROGRESSIVE ORGANIZATIONS OF THE WORLD
from the Coordinating Committee of the All-Russian Campaign in Defense of the Labor Code  |
 |
| s | THE ENEMIES OF LABOR | s |
|
|
As well known, Marx mistakenly thought that a transition from the 12- to 8-hour work day would be man's first step toward the realm of freedom. Deputy Golov is convinced that it's just the other way around. His draft of the labor code effectively abolishes the 40-hour for 56-hour work week, and without any overtime pay at that! The patriarchal Marx wanted to keep children from the eden of innate human rights. The democratic deputy Golov opens it for them widely. If Golov's draft is adopted, no Russian children will have to suffer discrimination because of their age. They all will have the right to have a job, even newborns. This gift of freedom from the party of Russian intelligentsia (and the State Department) is also a model of its traditional humanitarism: children under eight years of age will not be allowed to toil for more than 240 hours per year (Article 26/7). Glory to Russian Intelligentsia, the Best Friend of Children! |
WHO PAID THE PIPER? The World
Bank and the US Government
On October 7, 1997 WB approved a US$28.6 million
Social Protection Implementation Loan (SPIL) to Russia in support of the
longer-term needs of the US$800 Social Protection Adjustment Loan (SPAL).
Under the category
"Assist the government to draft a new Labor Code"
|
|
Email a letter
of protest to
the State Duma and PUTIN Fax your protest to President Vladimir Putin (095) 206-02-66 Speaker of the Duma Gennady Seleznev (095) 292-85-08 |
|
MOBILIZATION
|
| On the All-Russian
Campaign in defense of the Labor Code On the Day of United Actions No--to the Government's Draft Labor Code!
Yes--to Workers Control!
|
On 17 May 2000, inspite of unusually cold weather and snow, approximately 300,000 workers across Russia participated in protests against the government's proposal to introduce a draconian new Labour Code. The actions ranged from stoppages of work to demonstrations
and pickets, often outside the administrative centres of towns. Areas
with the largest turnouts included Kaliningrad (150,000 workers), Astrakhan
(10 000), Novosibirsk (8000), Nizhnegorod (where 8000 workers
at one factory participated), Samara (4000), Moscow area 4000,
Omsk 2000, republic of Komi , 2000 (including 1000 at a rally at Europe's
largest mine). Certain groups of workers distinguished themselves, for
example the dockers, 15,000 of whom participated in the ports of
Vladivostok, Vostochni, Nakhodka, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Magadan,
Archangelsk, Murmansk and Novorossiisk. At Yasnogorsk machine plant,
whose courageous workers became famous when their long militant
occupation won unprecedented gains, 3500 workers took part in the stoppage.
Although the bureaucratic leadership of the FNPR, the country's The secretary of the FNPR, Andrei Isayev, who last year joined forces with Moscow Mayor Luzhkov's and former prime minister Primakov's Fatherland All-Russia coalition, submitted an alternative draft Labour Code to the one already submitted by colleagues of Oleg Shein. The draft submitted by Isayev was drawn up in collaboration with a representative from the right-wing Thatcherite Union of Right Forces. Likewise the Communist Party of Zyuganov (KPRF) was generally noted for its absence from the struggle. This is not surprising considering that, despite their rhetoric, the party leadership has willingly approved every government budget for years and has declared itself in favour of defending "honest" entrepreneurs. In fact it was on the initiative of the KPRF member Selezhnev, the Speaker of the Duma, that the government's draft Code was rushed onto the table for discussion after some years of delay. Well over a hundred additional organisations and trade unions sent faxes in to protest against the new Labour Code.
On May 20, Mikhail Kasianov, selected by Putin for the job of prime minister, went to the State Duma to seek its approval of his candidacy. Everything went smoothly for Kasianov (he eventually was confirmed) when Deputy Shein confronted him with the following question: "The Government has introduced a new labor legislature which causes great alarm among broad layers of our society, because it violates many human rights and, among other things, abolishes the 8-hour workday. Will you or will you not support this legislature if you are confirmed as prime minister?" Kasianov was clearly unprepared to answer this
inquiry. Millions of people (the event was broadcasted live) could
see him becoming rather confused. He finally answered that he was not well
acquainted with this legislature and that it will not be a part of his
legislative agenda this summer. (The State Duma indeed has postponed the
hearings till the fall).
|
|
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY
|
| To the International Labor Movement
From the International Labor Conference
Dear brothers and sisters! The Russian Parliament DUMA is about to consider a project
When the wild capitalism reigns, when no civilised relations between different subjects of civil society have been built yet, when workers don't receive the wages for months, when the employers, disregarding the existing laws, establish by themselves social and labour relations most suitable for them, when the obstacles for self-organisation of workers and for the defence of their rights and interests are being created, we do consider unacceptable to approve the government version of Labour Code. Liberalisation of labour market suggested by the government project will deepen the division of Russian society, will foster a growth of tyranny, of social tension in the country and will bring on social disorder, as it is already happening in some other countries. We, the undersigned, believe that it is necessary to preserve the present Labour Code and to extend the workers' and their representative's rights by introducing the respective norms into this Code. We appeal to the international labor movement to support and show solidarity with workers' and labor union movements of Russian Federation by sending protest letters to Russian government and DUMA and solidarity letters to Russian unions. Participants of the International Working Conference
The State Duma Adress:
A/C Deputy Anatoly Ivanov
President of the State Duma:
E-mail addresses of the signatories:
|
| Dear comrades, We distributed the following flyer at the anti-IMF protests in Washington DC last weekend IMF HANDS OFF EAST EUROPE
Here are some examples of the "democracy" Washington and Wall Street have brought to the former Soviet Union: RUSSIA: On April 14, IMF
emissary Stanley Fisher declared that Russia was heading in the "right
direction." This leaflet is issued by
the International Action Center
LONDON A protest vigil was maintained for three and a half hours outside the venue of the Russia 2000 Expo, a major gathering of top Russian political and business elite with western business leaders on 19 April following a call by International Solidarity with Workers in Russia (ISWoR - MCPP). ISWoR placards in Russian and English read: "Putin's Labour Code = Slave Labour code"; "Stop the Repression against Russian Trade Unionists!"; "Putin stick your Labour Code up Your Arse", "No to the 56-hour week!"; "Stop the Killings in Chechnya" and "Stop Zhirinovsky and the Racists". On Monday 17 April ISWoR supporters had demonstrated against Putin's visit to London, with similar anti-capitalist and antiwar slogans. Liz Davies, left-wing member
of the Labour Party National Executive Committee, addressed the picket.
A minor victory was realised when the police informed ISWoR that the Gala
Reception, a highlight of the two-day conference, had been moved from
its original location at London?s most prestigious conference centre to
a secret location. The Expo organisers feared that our visible presence
and noise would disturb their whole evening., as our demonstration was
situated right below the very long windows The western media carefully
avoided all mention of the anti-capitalist nature of the protests on 17
and 19 April, referring only to the antiwar slogans. In one case, an ISWoR
supporter was actually asked by a British press TV team to move his placard,
condemning the Russian government's oppressive Labour Code,
|
11-12 June, Geneva. The Seventh International
Conference of Labor Unions listens to the report of the Russian representative.
No to the New Labour Code Imposed by the IMF!! Having been informed of the will to impose a new labour code – demanded by the IMF – which would suppress numerous social guaranties (prohibition of women's labour at night, of teenagers' labour…), bring in a working day up to 12 hours, a working week up to 56 hours, replace open ended contracts by very short fixed-term contracts, flexibilisation, working time based on a yearly scale, the liquidation of numerous guaranties in favour of women, youth and disabled, and the liquidation of numerous union rights, We support the Russian unionists who demand that the draft Labour code be abandoned! Signatures: ABUL, Bashar, Bangladesh; ALTMAN, Michael, Germany, ON
ASA SPD; ANOR, Albert, Switzerland, SSP; ANOR, Alexandre, Switzerland,
member of the Swiss socialist party; BAIBORODOVA, Svetlana, Russia, Association
of Trade Unions DEFENSE; BARRIERA, Gabrielle, Switzerland, UCPO; BARROIS,
Jean-Pierre, France, ILC.; BEGUELIN, Matthieu, Switzerland, unionist; BERGER
, Christof, Switzerland, unionist post; BRAND, Pierre-Alain, Switzerland,
UCPO; CASAGRANDE, Marco, Switzerland, UCPO; CHANEL, Didier, France, unionist;
CHARALAMBUS, Charlie, GB,; COLLARD, Alain, France, unionist; CSAI, Chongguo,
Chine, Chinese Labour Party; DELEY, Luc, Switzerland, unionist SSP; DORIANE,
Olivier, France, unionist; ERWIN, Salazar, Peru, ULST-CGTP; FOFANA, Ibrahim,
Guinea, SG UGT-G; GBIKPI-BENISSAN, Norbert T?v?vi, Togo, General Secretary
of National Federation of Independent Unions of Togo; GLUCKSTEIN, Daniel,
France, Labour Party; GROTJOHANN, Anna, Germany, OTV; GUELPA, Severin,
Switzerland, unionist; GULZAR, Ahmad. Ch., Pakistan, All Pakistan Trade
Union Federation; HEBERT, Patrick, France, unionist (CGT-FO); HOFER, Daniel,
Switzerland, UCPO, FTMH; HOMEM, Anisio Garcez, Brazil, Labour party national
direction; IMSIROVIC, Pavlusko, Yugoslavia, unionist; ISELI, Claude, Switzerland,
SAEN; LANDRY , Abdou, Switzerland, UCPO; LANGALET, Dominique, France, unionist;
LICHTSCHLAG, Charles, Switzerland, SSP; LIEGEOIS, A, France, unionist;
LINS, Rosana, Brazil, dol Sul programme; MABASA, Tziyani Lybon, South Africa,
Political leader; MADDALENA, Silvio, Italy, PRC, UCPO, FTMH; MAILLOT, Dominique,
France, unionist, Work conditions inspector; MARQUISET, Jean-Charles, France,
unionist; MOSTAFA, Foster ; MOUTOT, Dan, France, ; NKUZIMANA, Paul, Burundi,
University workers’ Union; OSTROSKI, Paulo, Brazil, CUT; PALACIOS, Evelyn,
Mexico, Sec. SNTE; ROBERT, Max, Switzerland, UCPO; SAGNON, Tol?, Burkina
Faso, SG CGT-B; SAGNON, Tol?, Burkina Faso, SG CGT-B; SALAZAR, Erwin, Spain,
; SCHUSTER, H. W., Germany, OTV; SHAPIRA, Daniel, France, Mouvement du
manifeste des 500 pour l’ind?pendance syndicale; SOKOL, Markus, Brazil,
Labour Parti National Direction; SOW, Bayla, Senegal ; SPADARI, Anna M.,
Brazil, CGT; SPADARI, Anna-Maria, Brazil, PT San Paulo; STALDER, Yves,
Switzerland, UCPO; TAFFAZUL, Hussein, Bangladesh, President BJSF; TAKJUT,
Amar, Algeria, unionist UGTA; TCHIMPAGILA, Simon, Congo, SG CDT; TURRA,
Julio, Brazil, CUT, national direction; VARALDO, Lorenzo, Italy, unionist;
VASQUEZ, Luis, Mexico, ; YAO, K. Fran?ois, C?te d’Ivoire, SG SYNASEG
|
|
|
|
|
