Workers of Servolux: We Are Treated Like Slaves

People are driven into a corner and bullied at.

A worker from the largest poultry farm ZAO Servolux turned to editorial office of Charter97.org. The letter which can be called "a cry from the heart" enumerates acute social problems workers of Belarusian enterprises usually face.

"Less than a year ago I started working at the largest poultry farm Servolux. It is located in Mezhisyatki village, Mahilyou district. Due to the situation in the country there was no good choice. It's pretty hard to find a job in Mahilyou, other vacancies a poorely paid," the worker writes.

"Upon arrival at the HR department, I was sent the slaughter and processing shop for the so-called "testing". Then it is decided whether you are hired or not. It starts at about 9-10 am and ends at about 5 pm. This time is not paid, but you have to work hard.

And if you do everything right, you go back to the HR department next day and get referral for medical examination. No one tells you about nuances and peculiarities at the enterprises. The medical examination costs about 70 rubles and is paid on your own.

And when the medical examination is passed and all documents are collected, you go back to the shop and start learning slowly. In the first month you schedule is 2/2 days. When I came the working day was from 8 am to 9.30 pm. One hour for lunch and 30-minute break for rest.

But the most interesting starts from the second month. You get familiar with the new schedule. According to it, you work 3/1 days. The third day is a side job you cannot ignore. It's not about voluntary side job. If you ignore it, you should write an explanatory report and a part of your benefit will be deprived. At the moment, people work from 8 am till 11 pm. It means 15 hours amid the schedule 3/1. As we are told, such a schedule is the order of the head of the shop Kasyakova L.I. But it's not the end, there are cases when people work till 12 am or even 4-5 am.

The factory has a bus which takes you home after work. It usually drives to the factory at 6.20 am, and leaves it at 11.30 pm.

I mean that you get home only at 0.30 am, and you have only 4-5 hours to sleep. You have to wake up early because the bus does not stop at every stop. After a short sleep you have to work for three days. And as soon as you have your day-off, you try to sleep a little longer and to pay attention to your family. And in the evening you start preparing for other three days of hard labor.

Over the last six months a lot of inspections and commissions have been to Servolux. However, no one cares about workers. They ignore the working schedule which can reach 260 hours per month. If a worker tries to resist, he is immediately fired. For several months employees of the shop have been trying to meet with the director. However, they are constantly told that the director is informed, but he has no opportunity to meet.

People are treated like slaves. Silent and deprived of rights. People do not want to complain, because they can lose their jobs. People are driven into a corner and bullied at," a factory worker writes in his letter.

It will be recalled that ZAO Servolux is the largest producer of poultry meat in Belarus. Famous Belarusian businessman, friend of Yury Chyzh, Jauhen Baskin is the Director General of Servolux. On March 15, 2016 Baskin and four of his employees were detained by the KGB. The businessman was accused of non-payment of taxes in large amounts. On March 22 it became known that Jauhen Baskin "undid the damage in full" and was released.