‘Excessively high employee turnover has always been Concern Kalina’s major problem. The company does not comply with the Labor Code regulations, and the firing process is way too easy there,’ says Alexei Slyazin of Sverdlovsk Region Federation of Trade Unions.

‘The picket aimed at protesting against the company’s policy went through okay. It had actually been authorized by the mayor. We were standing opposite Kalina’s building with posters that read, ‘Concern Kalina is a workforce grinder,’ ‘If you are afraid of control, you’ve got something to hide,’ ‘Goryaev claims to be proud of Labor Code violations – let prosecution have its say,’ and ‘Trade Unions can cure fear of managers,’ he notes.

‘The concern’s management refused to provide any comments. In case they don’t respond at all, we’ll have to take the case to the public prosecution authorities,’ Slyazin adds.

In the meantime, Chairman of the Federation Andrei Vetluzhskikh says the workers are trying to set up trade unions despite the management’s disapproval.