19 April, 2010Workers at the Nissan plant in Kamenka near Saint-Petersburg formed a union affiliated to ITUA. Nissan management committed to good faith negotiations with the new union.
RUSSIA: On April 7 workers at the Nissan plant near Saint-Petersburg formed a union affiliated to the Interregional Trade Union of Autoworkers (ITUA), an IMF affiliate. Vladimir Ivanov, a forklift operator, was elected as the president of the new union.
Opened in June 2009, the Nissan plant in Kamenka produces Teana and X-Trail cars. As of April 1, the total number of workers at the plant was 1,116.
"We hope that the new ITUA union will promote cooperation and dialogue between the workers and the administration and will allow Nissan workers to achieve real improvements in the field of employment," said the chair of ITUA Council Alexei Etmanov.
On April 14 union members met with the administration of the plant, where both sides committed to constructive dialogue.
The union and the administration agreed upon the list of the representatives of the management to negotiate with the union. In the future the meetings between the management and the workers' representatives may become regular.
"We are very glad that we achieved common understanding with the management. We hope for continued cooperation and constructive dialogue," said the president of the union Vladimir Ivanov.