The Great Chinese mine

Siberian mines are becoming Chinese. But proletariat is still not paid its wage.
Working Krasnokamensk mine, passed into the ownership of a Chinese company Lofty Stand (Hong Kong) Limited, declare their readiness to begin a hunger strike since 21 July. They do not give out salary: There are no full settlement for April. In sum unpaid with the May and June the pay - about 20 million rubles. Production stopped, part of the team - 321 of 559 - forced outage. At the same time workers are in the dark about the plans of the owner. This was reported by the chairman of the trade union Oleg Pastukhov mine. Indefinite hunger strike are ready to announce the 30 people, including the very union leaders. Information Pastukhov support to the Federation of Trade Unions of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, in the Regional Committee of Mining and Metallurgical Union of Russia.

A Lofty Stand Ltd 100% mine shares owned Chinese corporation "Qinglong". From now on the board of directors of the mine - only the Chinese, it is headed by Li Xiaoming, who is also chairman of the board "Qinglong". Now its or his representatives are waiting in Krasnoyarsk Territory government is scheduled to meet. Miners are waiting for him meanwhile in Krasnokamensk. Meeting with tRudow collective owners of the mine - the first requirement of the proletariat. The second (and there are only two) - issuance of salary.

A letter from the regional committee of Mining and Metallurgical Union of Russia, directed Acting governor of the region Victor Tolokonski: "From the moment of entry into the rights of the owner company" Qinglong "systematically failed to comply with the requirements of the labor legislation of the Russian Federation and points of collective enterprise agreement on the timing and size of the payment of wages."

Russian businessmen, wage arrears to employees, engaged in the prosecutor's office. Business Owners Announce wanted. large factories Directors is disqualified, they receive real time. This is very different from indulgence to what is happening now in the Chinese (but Brokeback out there Aborigines) enterprises.

Such apathy all the more incomprehensible the eve of the approaching elections in the region of the governor. All businessmen inciting riots, in earlier times would have been called on the carpet to the first person, and had a pale appearance.

What's happening? This is a special case, or sregularities consequence of that "new quality of relations between Russia and China" (Putin) indicated last spring Moscow and Beijing?

For the first time in the impoverished village of Krasnokamensk, lost in the Sayan Mountains - Kuraginskiy this area - I visited in October 1995. During these 20 years, there is little that changed. Is that mine, iron ore comes the West-Siberian and Kuznetsk Iron and Steel, while three times as many people were employed - 1800 people. Money and time are not seen, and mine in all respects was bankrupt. Since the beginning of the 90's lived here for reference: in the dining room were recorded, but who ate in the shops - who as far as otovarilsya. Metal, which is calculated from the mine his business partners, he changed to refrigerators, furniture, and gave it instead of working wages (if they are, of course, not all've taken up).

And it seemed the village addiction victory of communism must be from a dog's life is not on the side of the ruling party (then called "Our Home - Russia"), and those for the new repartition. But no. In fact, rampant, in unison Miners recordthe ranks of the PDR, the party's high-ranking officials, and then led me to Krasnokamensk.

The reason was simple proletarian enthusiasm. Mine at the time had 15 billion, and he owed to the budget of 18 billion, of which 10 - penalties and interest. And write to PDR took place under the banner of forgiveness of these 10 billion - to knock off their promised the administration and the tax authorities the edge. In return for popular support PDR. Simple arithmetic operations, you can check that the power for every vote in her favor was ready to donate more than 10 million rubles from the budget.

Later invented circuit is generally rid of debt recorded in the NDR mine. Dali company - it is, by the way, the only non-budget in the village - tax breaks. Counted as transfer payments to the budget of the edge of metal rolling clearing house (!). Nevertheless, in 2005, when the debt has passed for billion at the mine entered bankruptcy proceedings (recently geologists in heaps of gold mines only counted up to 8 tons, the metal by 42 billion rubles). In 2008, the mine still. Then he was sent as a load Krastsvetmet specializing in AffiEven precious metals, - 100% of the shares of the company is rich, the authorities of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, and they can solve all the problems that they find, at his expense. Krastsvetmet designed to mine massive reconstruction project, at the first opportunity to get rid of all non-core asset. Mine went from hand to hand, it resold to him were related Kemerovo "New coal company" and Vitaly Gorshkov, novosibirets Igor Kuznetsov and his company "Euro-Asia Invest", and every time "investors" were talking about modernization, expansion of the resource base and output to foreign markets. To date, all these talks have led to a complete dismantling of equipment in the crushing and washing plant.

The situation when all permanent all have - not only in the village, along the entire production chain from ore to metal - uniquely fertile for administrative games, bribery, handouts, blackmail, all kinds of fraud that have nothing to do with a normal economy. You can leave any time from the closing of the enterprise (the same monoposelenie!), Without changing anything in the style of work. All around itprofitable. And finally there is the village. And there are people in it - in the eternal dependence and inability to somewhere to get away from here. In an atmosphere of eternal camp. And with the spirit of freemen.

Of course, if the election were today something decided, and their outcome was not known in advance, and even if they still have the annual, quarterly and it is better, mine and the village when it would be nice to feel today. But everything comes to an end. In March last year, the Chinese came. And I come bummer. They lantern to our political economy schemes. And fraud. They have their own plans and reasons about mine.

Judging by the statements of "Krasnokamensk mine", the company in recent months has attracted a lot of credit - every time a million, and even at $ 3 million - in Beijing Business Universe Limited Company. I lend mine and its current owner - a Hong Kong Lofty Stand Ltd. Where's the money?

According to Acting the regional Minister of Industry and Trade Alexander Klimin, the owner of the settlement account of the company transferred 3.5 million dollars, but do not -. rubles. These funds are guaranteed to be used to repay the US $s in front of the mine workers. However, I remind you, the total amount of debts in front of them - about 20 million.

In general, according to the trade unions, the attention given to the same Klimin, other officials of the mine - an unprecedented, given the small scale enterprises. Why is why the owner of the mine can not go to the dialogue with the workforce, may not fulfill the RF laws and agreements without the intervention of the authorities? The prosecutor's office has repeatedly beat out salary debts of the previous owners of the mine, and that it is now joined - say Kuragino District Attorney talking to each worker signed the petition - but that our prosecutors Chinese businessmen? Answer is not the owner, and Russian citizens carrying out the operational management of the Chinese property.

Unions say the need of strict regulation for foreign companies. Well, it's unlikely. Authorities are praying for Chinese investment. These pleas are backed by objective developments. On personal observations, recent influx of migrant workers from China does not, on the contrary, they leave. The level of salariesLife in China has increased significantly, the demand for labor is always, at home and it is already possible to get certainly not worse than in Russia. Compared with the Chinese, Russian earnings will not cover all the "charms" that accompany seasonal watches in Siberia and the Far East. Proceedings in the greenhouse and in the construction of more and more migrants from North Korea. China is now in Siberia are not migrant workers and business, buying or opening production, mines, mining companies.

By this turn of someone, maybe ready. The Kremlin. In a large business. But in the small Siberian towns.