Workers, Managers Agree

05.02.2008 (11:40) | The St. Petersburg Times

Workers at the Vsevolozhsk Ford plant in the Leningrad Oblast on Monday agreed in a secret ballot to accept the offer of the plant’s administration of a new employement agreement.

“The additional agreement will be signed today and will take effect from March 1,” Alexei Etmanov, head of the plant’s trade union said.

Etmanov said that although not all of the workers’ demands were met completely, the workers were satisfied with the administration’s offer.

“I wouldn’t call it a compromise, but rather the next step forward in our negotiation process,” Etmanov said.

Initially Ford workers demanded to have their average salary raised to 28,000 rubles ($1,136). They also wanted their night shift cut by an hour.

The offer of the administration includes a salary raise of 16-21 percent, depending on individual qualifications. As a result the average salary will reach $1,044, the initial salary will be $776 (it was previously $612), and annual bonuses will range from $204 to $408, depending on the length of service, Etmanov said.

In addition, the plant’s workers will receive a bigger discount on the purchase of new Ford cars, additional payment for overtime, and a new schedule for shift work.

The discount on buying new Ford cars will now be 15 percent, compared to a previous discount of four to seven percent.

The salary raise was the main demand of a strike at the plant that took place from Nov. 20 through Dec. 17.

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