Whole Shift Rebelled At Kashtan Ice-Cream Factory
- 14.09.2017, 8:25
The Kashtan Factory workers are ready to fight to the end for human labor conditions.
The employer threatens to fire the entire shift of workers at the Kashtan private enterprise for the fact that workers of harmful production demanded by law to provide them with uniforms and hazardous-duty milk.
A whole shift – six people – from the private foreign enterprise Kashtan located in the free economic zone of Homel asked Homel lawyer of the REP trade union Leanid Sudalenka for a consultation.
Kashtan calls itself "a recognized leader in the production of modern plastic packaging"; it produces trays for eggs, boxes for cakes, salads, ice cream, etc.; working with chemicals is harmful production in all respects. The Kashtan workers started to demand appropriate working conditions – and faced the employer’s resistance.
Leanid Sudalenka told praca-by.info about the essence of the problem:
– People work in three shifts at Kashtan; they work with plastic – it’s a harmful production. The workers started to demand uniform and hazardous-duty milk – and complained to the labor inspector in the Department of Labor and Social Protection. And the workshop manager, having learnt that, wrote on their behalf an statement to the Department: "Our complaint does not need a response". The whole shift, all the six people refused to sign that statement. And each of the workers has already been notified on the non-renewal of the contract.
The trade union's right inspector stressed that to force the employer to renew the contracts was not the main thing in this issue, especially since it is not possible under the current legislation:
– They won't let them work at Kashtan any more, that's for sure. But women want to quit at a request of an employee, and not because of the expiration of the contract: in the first case, the employer pays the allowance in the amount of three salaries. That's what we're fighting for. I asked if they had a trade union at the enterprise. They have no any! Well, then join the REP, and our trade union will protect your rights. Is it fair: the workers demanded normal working conditions, and they are thrown out onto the street? They are therefore ready to go to the end.