What are the big issues for Russian unions?

The main problems are the non payment of salaries, the minimum wage and living standards. The main objective for trade unions is to increase salaries. Last year the trade union movement organised a day of protest around these issues on October 17 and 10 million people participated. We are organising more actions.

Why do people go to work if they are not being paid?

That is a good question. Because it is their only source of living. They do get paid but not on time. It can be one or two months later. The main issue for us is for workers to get paid their salary on time. If employers don’t pay on time we want extra to cover inflation and we want this in the labor code. There is a big struggle with employers on this issue but we will win because of our organised protests.

Since the fall of the Soviet system who is providing the social services for workers – enterprises or the government?

Companies finance some social facilities but they expect the government to provide them. In previous years if workers were ill they got money from the enterprise but now the government decides who gets it but they don’t want to pay for these social services.

How is the relationship between the government and the unions?

We don’t mind which government we have. The main question for us is: can this government solve our problems or not and what are their strategies for working people? What is their position on salaries? The Russian Federation is now 13 years old and during this period we have had eight different governments and we only ask for a few things – better salaries, safety at work and social guarantees.

Are Russian unions growing?

Over the last 13 years we have had stable membership. For the last two years we have had a slight increase. We have different situations in different sectors. We now have 43 different unions and 38 million members.

How are Russians coping in this changing environment?

People are negative about the reforms and the style of leading. They feel there is no future. There is no money to survive. They don’t think about things in the future like pensions. People just want to work, survive and feed their families and their children. A lot of men have depression because they can’t get the money to feed their families. Men are dying before they reach the pension age.

Are women better off or worse off?

Women have low salaries, difficulties getting jobs and high unemployment. They have a good education but can’t get the good jobs. Plus they have a second unpaid job in their homes. For the last few years women have had an even higher mortality rate then the men. There are few women in leadership positions – there are only two women in the government.

Do you feel positive or negative about the future in Russia?

I feel positive. I believe in my country. People in Russia are very talented and gifted and they understand they have to solve the problems themselves. Many workers belong to unions, they still believe in unions, they think about their future with trade unions. When unions organise protests we have millions of people in the streets. Only the unions can organise this. The are the voice of working people. No political party holds these interests of working people.

How important are these international contacts for you?

We are the youngest ICFTU member. We think international contacts are very important. We try to inform other organisations about our problems. We believe we are not alone and together we can achieve a lot of things. We can deal with capital somehow if we stick together.