How the Strike at Belaruskali Changed the Situation at the Enterprise

The strike really works.

The pseudo-authorities are trying hard to pretend that there are no strikes. But Nick and Mike Telegram channel has a few numbers that show that businesses are afraid of strikes like the plague. Let's take Belaruskali as an example.

The enterprise slowly advanced in terms of the strike, but more than 130 people joined so far. Despite the pressure, the strike managed to become a bone in the throat for the director of Belaruskali Ivan Halavaty (who, we recall, is also Viktar Lukashenka's godfather). Halavaty, by the way, does not appear today without two guards, and video cameras are installed around his house. At work, Halavaty is supervised by several KGB officers who appeared at the enterprise immediately after the August events.

The strike managed to establish communication with the largest trader of the company's products, the Norwegian company Yara, which is very concerned about the violation of workers' rights at the enterprise. Mass repressions against the miners have not started only because Belaruskali needs to sign a new five-year contract for a billion dollars in January. The management of the enterprise is very nervous about it.

The second direction of Belaruskali's work is buying the loyalty of those who have not yet gone on strike. It's unprecedented that the company has been issuing bonuses for four (!) months in a row. In September, it was 100%, in October - 100%, in November - 50%, in December - 100%. Moreover, if the production plans were constantly increased earlier, now they are reduced by 30-40 percent in some areas.

In addition, in December, everyone received the traditional New Year's bonus of 200 rubles, and the payment of the 13th salary is scheduled for January (in fairness, let's say that this is a common practice at Belaruskali).

Considering that Belaruskali employs 16 thousand people, and the average salary is around a thousand rubles, it turns out that each bonus of 100% costs the company $ 8 million, including taxes. The average salary is much higher (because bonuses and allowances are taken into account) - about 3,500 rubles. Therefore, the 13th salary will cost even more - $ 29 million. In total, with the roughest estimates, it appears that the strike at the moment cost Belkali 60 million dollars.

Of course, it is possible that everything is so good at Belaruskali that the company can encourage its employees at least every month. But the numbers tell a different story. For 10 months, the revenue of large chemical enterprises (gross-generating companies - Belaruskali, Hrodna-Azot, Homel Chemical Plant) fell by 10.8% compared to 2019, profit - by 46.9%. The profitability dropped from 17.9% to 10.6%. Separately, it should be noted that the industry's profitability in October was only 5.2%. In government statistics, enterprises with profitability of less than five percent are considered low profitable. And we are talking about the enterprises that feed half of the country.

The net profit of chemical enterprises for 10 months of 2020 fell 7 times - up to 67 million dollars. The drop in net profit is mainly due to the deterioration in the financial results of enterprises in the Salihorsk region, where Belaruskali and its subsidiaries are located.

Obviously, not all of these indicators can be attributed to the coronavirus epidemic. Obviously, the strike, the Italian strike of those who stayed to work, and those unprecedented measures to buy loyalty, which were mentioned above, also affected.

What is it all about? The strike really works. If 130 honest and courageous miners radically changed the situation at the enterprise, can you imagine if there will be not 130 people, but a thousand or five thousand? Obviously, this is what Halavaty is afraid of. He is trying to stop people by all means from leaving for the strike.