RUSSIA: The ITUA-VKT, an affiliate of the IMF, reached a collective agreement with Ford Motor Company that generated concrete results for workers at the plant located in Vsevolozhsk, outside St. Petersburg. A majority of workers voted on January 29 in favour of accepting the negotiated settlement that includes pay increases and additional benefits following a historic 20-day strike, the longest in recent Russian history.

Improvements include wages increases that range from 16 percent up to 21 percent for the lowest paid workers. As a result, on average factory workers will earn more than RUR 25,000 (USD 1,030) per month with starting monthly pay of RUR 19,000. The collective contract also includes a long-term saving programme with equal participation of payments from the employee and the company, other improvements in compensation and terms and conditions of work, as well as a better vehicle purchase plan for employees.

The settlement represents a "step forward" according to Aleksey Etmanov, chairperson of the shop floor union committee at the Ford-Vsevolozhsk and the ITUA co-chairman, "in protecting the interests of our workers, improving their pay system, conditions of work and life in general." The union went on to recognize "the invaluable solidarity and help that was rendered" by labour union organisations around the world.