Support The Moscow Times!

Workers at Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome On Strike ... Again

More than 200 construction workers have gone on strike at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Far East, the Interfax news agency reported Friday.

The workers refused to come to work today because of unpaid wages. One worker said that management of their employer, Spetsdorstroi, cited financial problems at higher levels as the reason for the delay in payments.

“I have worked at the launch site since 2012, and we have never had such delays in our organization. They gave us only 41 percent of May's wages, and said they could only give us an advance of 5000 rubles ($75), on July 30,” a worker said, the Vedomosti newspaper reported.

A total of 215 workers signed a statement giving notice that they would cease work Friday. They refuse to return to work until they are paid the outstanding wages for May and June.

Early this month, a group of workers at the cosmodrome employed by a different company went on strike for the same reason, though returned to work the day after a meeting with management.

In April, the former director of one construction company responsible for Vostochny was sentenced to three years in a labor camp for embezzlement of company funds.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more