Ukraine

Lvov independent union fights bosses victimisation

www.socialistworld.net, 01/07/2002
website of the committee for a workers' international, CWI

International solidarity needed!

Members of the Lvov branch of ‘Workers Resistance’ (CWI in the Ukraine) are working in solidarity with a branch of the independent union, VOST, at Lvov Ceramic Plant Ltd (LKZ). The union is conducting a heroic struggle against the management of the enterprise, who are planning to fire all the union activists.

Workers’ Resistance comrades have helped to draft an appeal to the district court calling for a halt to the management’s victimisation of union activists. The VOST appeal for international support for the Lvov Ceramic Plant workers.

Please send protest letters to the Lviv Ceramic Plant:

Fax number: 380322676344 and/or by mail: Lviv City Office of Public Prosecutor, 16 Gorodotska str., Lviv, Ukraine.

Please send copies of your messages by email to Workers’ Resistance to:
skm_lviv@mail.ru , workres@hotmail.com

 

Below is an English translation of the Lvov Ceramic Plant workers’ appeal to the district court:

 

To: The local court of Zaliznychniy district, Lvov city

From: The All-Ukrainian Association of Solidarity Trade Unions,
Lvov Ceramic Plant Ltd
65, 13 Syayvo str.,
Lvov,
Ukraine

E.S. Sikora

 

Petition

The independent trade union, the All-Ukrainian Association of Solidarity Trade Unions (VOST) at Lvov Ceramic Plant Ltd (LKZ) was established in the enterprise during 1999. Since the establishment of this union organization the enterprise’s administration, in particular, the Chairman of the Board of Directors, M. Bek, have persecuted the VOST members of LKZ.

For example, on 20 June 2001, the Chairman of the Board of Directors of LKZ, M. Bek, during an executive meeting, gave instructions to shop and unit superintendents to sack from the enterprise, for any reason [pretext], all members of the independent union as well as those workers who sympathize with the union. In our opinion, this is an infringement of Articles 34, 36, 64 of the Ukrainian Constitution, Articles 2, 234 of the Labor Code of Ukraine and Article 5 of Ukrainian law [concerning], "About trade unions; their rights and guarantees of their activity".

Without agreement with the union committee of VOST of LKZ, at different times since 1999, the leader and members of the union, E.M. Sikora, E.S. Stegnitskiy, Y.T. Yushchishin, K.I. Doroshenko, A.I. Paskevych, I.M. Shevchuk, M.I. Maternatska, and O.P. Kolodiy, were sacked. This is an infringement of Articles 43, 252 of the Labor Code of Ukraine and Article 39 of the Ukrainian law, "About trade unions; their rights and guarantees of their activity".

At the present time, the administration of LKZ has appealed to the court for the eviction of sacked workers/members of [the] independent union [names provided]. This is an infringement of Article 43 of the Ukrainian Constitution.

The application by the independent union for office space for union work has not been dealth with positively. At the same time, the committee of the ’official’ union branch has use of well-funded and comfortable premises. In our opinion, this is an infringement of Article 249 of the Labor Code of Ukraine and Articles 10, 42 of the Ukrainian law, "About trade unions; their rights and guarantees of their activity".

In connection with this, based on Article 55 of the Ukrainian Constitution, Article 265 of the Labor Code of Ukraine and Articles 42, 46 of the Ukrainian law, "About trade unions; their rights and guarantees of their activity" we appeal to the court to bring to criminal responsibility [to begin criminal proceedings against] the Chairman of the Board of Directors of LKZ M.Bek in accordance with Article 73 of the Criminal code of Ukraine.

ENDS