Workers of Salihorsk plant left without wages on New Year’s Eve

Employees of Salihorsk manufacturing equipment plant have been regularly experiencing late payments for more than a year.

Before the New Year celebrations, the plant has problems with timely payments of earnings to workers, a reader from Salihorsk wrote to charter97.org.

“Several times it happened so that minimal Br 1.8 mln were paid, and the rest was paid over 7-8 months. In general, we showed understanding for the situation of the plant, hard times, so to say, there is a crisis in potassium industry, and it has hit all enterprise of Salihorsk district…

But under the contract and collective labour agreement, December 25 was the last day for payments. It’s December 30 today, and we haven’t been paid a single kopeck. It’s not so awful, but after all, the New Year is close at hand. The superiors have not explained that in any way, as if it were a normal situation.

And finally, a sensational fact: we think that our administration will have enough money to celebrate, as their salaries are big enough not to live from hand to mouth (and it happens during the crisis, while we were paid minimal sums and our bonuses are reduced). There was an article in “Narodnaya Volya” newspaper, about “chiefs and rich people”, and it was told there that in February, 2014, the income of our supervising engineer and technical director Yury Trayan was Br 38 mln per month,” the reader informed.

A journalist of charter97.org tried to find out what is happening at the plant in reality, and to inquire for how long workers have to wait for their wages. Only one phone number answered, and it was the phone of the technical director, Yury Trayan.

“They are to be paid salaries today. We are doing everything in our power for that,” he assured.

We remind that Belarusian enterprises have been experiencing problems with payment of wages over the last 6 months. In particular, reports are coming regularly that some Belarusian plants start to work four or three days a week, their workers are paid part of their wages, wages are reduced, besides, workers were made to take unpaid leave.