‘A fatal accident occurred at Severouralsk bauxite mine (SUBR) last night, the victim being a thirty-nine-year-old highly skilled miner. The tragedy was probably caused by the fact that RUSAL is currently trying to cut down on all kinds of expenses, including those associated with labor safety. There were only four rather than six bolt clamps on the site of the accident, which resulted in the mined rock collapsing right upon the miner,’ SUBR Chairman of Independent Trade Union Valeriy Zolotarev said to an UrBC reporter. ‘RUSAL has been treating its workers harshly lately. The performance

Uralsvyazinform, the Urals’ major telecommunications provider, held its AGM in Perm recently. The points on the meeting’s agenda included the approval of the annual report for 2008 and the annual accounting report (including the profit and loss statement) as well as the issue of profit anf loss distribution, including the share dividend. According to the reports made at the meeting, the company’s sales revenues dropped by 17.6% last year, while its pre-tax profit and net profit decreased by 25.2% and 27.3%, respectively. In addition, the average number of people employed by the company went

UC RUSAL Severouralsk bauxite mine (SUBR) Independent Trade Union is planning to organize a picket in Severouralsk. The workers are going to protest against their cancelled meal subsidies. The picket starts at 10 AM next to the administration building, with 200 to 300 workers likely to show up. This is going to be a silent event, with only banners to make the point. UC RUSAL representatives, in their turn, have accused the trade union of bringing instability into the already difficult social situation. The company claims they had to stop subsidizing their workers’ meals in order to save money

The Russian Federation Federal Insurance Surveillance Service made several insurers’ licenses void temporarily and annulled the licenses of eight insurance companies, including Uralros Insurance Company that used to deal in obligatory car insurance packages. The decrees to this extent were signed on May 28, 2009 and are to come into effect on June 4, 2009, the Insurance News Agency reports. The other companies to lose their licenses are: Sochi-based Altair, Moscow-based First National Insurance Society, Moscow Region-based Universal Reinsurance Society, Moscow Region-based Avis+, Saint

Ural Airlines is going to decrease the prices for Europe-bound flights this summer. A ticket for return Yekaterinburg-Prague-Paris, Yekaterinburg-Prague-Milan, Yekaterinburg-Prague-Venice, Yekaterinburg-Prague-Rome, Yekaterinburg-Prague-Budapest, and Yekaterinburg-Prague- Ljubljana flights will only cost ?299 (excluding the fuel fee) on June 9 2009 through July 28, 2009 every Tuesday. The flights will be operated via a connection in Prague; the tickets from Prague to Paris, Milan, Venice, Rome, Ljubljana, and Budapest are offered by the carrier’s interline partners. ‘Given that plane tickets