News

Naval repair yards still struggling

Publish date: October 14, 1997

Written by: Igor Kudrik

A part of the salary debts for the Naval officers was covered by the government by the end of September. In the meantime, the Naval repair yards were not in the

In the middle of July the Russian government promised to cover all its salary debts to the army by September this year, allocating 800 million USD for this purpose. In this context, the Russian President signed a special decree no.690, guaranteeing the pay-back.

By September most of the salary debt to the Navy was paid back. Somehow, the Naval repair yards slipped from the list.

On October 1, the employees of Naval Repair Yard no. 82 on the Kola Peninsula ran a blockage of an automobile road, demanding their salaries. The labour union disclaimed responsibility for further actions a few days later. Similarily tense situations developed at Naval Repair yards Shkval in Polyarny, no.82 in Safonovo and Sevmorput in Murmansk. All these yards are located on the Kola Peninsula. At Sevmorput some 70% of the workers are at stand by, having nothing to do. At the last meeting of the labour union there were proposals to block traffic in the Kola bay, in order to draw the authorities’ attention to the situation.

The last promise which came from Moscow was to cover the salary debts to the Naval yards by October 15. Prior to that the leaders of the yard labour unions forwarded letters to the Prosecutors office in Murmansk County, in which they disclaim responsibility for possible protest actions.