Plants in Homel begin to work 4 days a week

More plants have begun to work four days a week in Homel.

Komintern sewing factory will have shorter working weeks from December 5, Radio Svaboda reports.

December 4 was the last working day at the factory this week. A top manager confirms this information: “Yes, we have a day off tomorrow. The factory does not work,” she said.

She refused to give reasons for the decision to work four days, but workers agreed to talk about the problem. “We don't have work. The decision [to work four days] was made allegedly on our consent. We don't have work! We had to agree. We are paid per hour, so we will lose our money,” they say.

Asked about the day off, another worker answers in a sad tone: “We will work four days a week during a month. There are problems with orders.”

The factory also announced discounts for its clothes produced a year or two ago. A men's suit of last year that cost 1.5 million rubles now costs 850,000 rubles.

StankoGomel machine building plant is located opposite Komintern factory. The plant has been working four days a week since October. Managers explain the measure with the absence of demand for machines in the Belarusian market.

“Consumers of our machines are the country's leading plants – the tractor plant, the engine plant, BelAZ truck manufacturer and Gomselmash combine harvester producer. All of them have financial problems, so they cannot buy new equipment,” plant managers say.

Gidroprivod plant has been working short weeks for several months. The plant produces regulating hydraulic equipment for tractors for the Minsk Tractor Plant, Gomselmash and the Babruisk Plant of Tractor Parts and Units.

The plant explains short working weeks: “We don't have orders in Belarus.”

The plants focusing mainly on the Russian market have faced difficult times, too. Their revenues declined due to the sharp fall of the Russian ruble.

The director of a Homel-based plant says about sales in Russia: “Yes, we have problems, and the problems are great. We earlier earned 270-280 million, but now we have only 230 million.”