New Protest Wave At Hrodna Azot

At least two workshops can stop.

About 70 employees of Hrodna Azot have written letters of resignation, but so far they have not submitted them to the management. This is how the Azot people reacted to the arrest of their colleague, and the trials that will begin soon. If they are really fired, at least two workshops will stop, Radio Svaboda informs.

What was the impetus for the protest?

During a protest action on the day of Lukashenka's “inauguration” on September 23, several workers of Hrodna Azot were arrested. One of them, Ihar Rubtsevich, was arrested for 5 days, as he was detained repeatedly. It was the first time anyone was arrested for participating in protests at a chemical giant. Rubtsevich was released on September 28.

“Seventeen colleagues greeted him like a hero,” says the leader of the Hrodna Azot strike committee Yury Ravavy, who is now in Warsaw.

Before that, on August 25, a column of Azot workers was detained, when they were going from work to the city center. There were about 30 of them, who were held in the police department for several hours. About half a thousand Hrodna residents came to support them under the isolation ward, and the leadership of Azot also came. All were released on the same evening, but protocols were drawn up for their participation in an unauthorized mass event. Their trials are expected on September 30.

Dismissal applications, refusal to work, Italian strike

In response to this, the employees of Hrodna Azot began to write letters of resignation, but so far they have not submitted them to the management. These are, first of all, the technological personnel of the Ammonia-3 workshop, who work in shifts. This workshop employs about 80 people.

Before that, one of the shifts generally refused to take up work in protest. General Director Ihar Bobyr and Chief Engineer Viktar Mikhnevich visited them. In the end, they agreed to continue working.

The workshop “Ammonia-4” is now undergoing scheduled repairs, although the repairs should have begun in summer. Some Azot residents believe that the management delayed the start of the repairs, as they were afraid that after this the workers would refuse to start working again. Now the work at “Ammonia-4” is going rather slowly. This reminds of an Italian strike. Employees work off their time, refuse to work on weekends, do not stay “overtime” as they used to. It is legal.

“People show the management that they will not earn money for them,” says Andrei Khanevich, chairman of the Hrodna Azot Independent Trade Union.