Ford Workers In Russia Strike

By CBS News producers Svetlana Berdnikova, Alexei Kuznetsov, and David A. Grout

"This place has been turned into a real sweatshop," Etmanov told CBS News. "Workers are being nickel-and-dimed. Management wants employees to spend every second building cars — forget about lunch breaks, cigarette breaks or weekends."

The Ford Focus is tremendously popular in Russia; it was the best-selling foreign car for 2006 and the waiting list for buying one can be as long as four months. To meet demand, Ford is planning to increase production at the Vsevolozhsk plant by 20 percent this year, aiming for a total output of 150,000 cars for 2007.

The pressure and the physical load on every worker has grown considerably, said Etmanov.

"Not only are they increasing the output, but they are also raising prices for their cars. So why don't they raise our wages accordingly? We are losing our health here, churning out 300 cars a day, but we do not receive any compensation for this."

The strikers are demanding better working conditions, a 30 percent pay raise, and more social benefits, as well as a ban on the use of outside labor.

"Ford does everything by the book," said Ford spokesperson Yekaterina Kulinenko, reached by CBS News for comment. "All breaks and work schedules are in strict compliance with the law. We are offering very competitive salaries to our workers. Ford employees in Vsevolozhsk are paid $600 to $730 (per month) depending on their skills. And if one looks at salaries at other carmakers in Russia, one might think Ford employees have grown way too fussy."

In an attempt to thwart the strike, the company's management offered raises of 14 to 20 percent. This was rejected by the union.

"They were throwing some peanuts to us, hoping they could buy us on the cheap," Etmanov told CBS News. "But this strike is not only about money. We want to be treated like human beings and not like robots."

Ford management even appealed to a local court, which ruled the strike illegal. But the workers were resolute and went ahead with their planned action.

"We are disappointed union leaders have taken this action. However, we remain committed to seeking a collective agreement. We also continue to stand behind our generous wage offer made to employees last week," Ford said it its official press release.

Etmanov has an explanation as to why Ford is reluctant to meet the union's demands. "We understand that capitalism does not have a human face. But we strongly mind when Russian workers are used to cover the losses incurred by the company in other countries."

The operation in Vsevolozhsk is the only European factory that makes all four models of the Focus. If the sides fail to reach agreement and the strike resumes, the company may start losing $4 million to $6 million each day. The company has already requested an initial batch of 1,700 cars to be imported into Russia "in order to protect its customers," said Kulinenko. Even though the strike is planned to last only 24 hours, the story is far from over. "We will give (management) one more chance," Etmanov warned. "If they do not agree to our terms, we will resume the strike."