Such behaviour of the employers is directly correlated to the state of trade union movement. In the last two years this movement in this region is rising to a new level, the typical features of which are refusal of the tendency to solve all problems through court, intentions to create unions on new enterprises, being civilized i.e. using non-violent methods, growth of activities and solidarity. The following illustrate these features:

A number of unions left Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FITUR) or experienced a strong conflict with the employer.

Activation of some of the union organizations created by FITUR reflects positive changes in the bowls if this gigantic trade union. For instance:

а) Ford (Jan 2006) and Caterpillar-Tosno (Feb 2006).

b) Portoflot (St. Petersburg’s Sea port) in 2005-2006. See part one.

New trade onions were organized mostly at the enterprises with foreign capital Heineken, Phillip Morris Izhora early in 2006, Scania-Peter in Feb 2006, Nokian in Sept 2006 and Rokko-Plumbing. Most of these unions were created due to Ford’s active support, which not only allocated specially for these unions means of help for the new unions, but also started building infrastructure for professional trades union leaders.

а) Trade union of dockyard workers in St. Petersburg’s Sea Port held a warning and ‘Italian’ strikes Sept 7, 2005. The reason was management’s discontinuation of the collective agreement negotiations on 40% salary indexation (salary adjustments according to inflation). The strike included refusal to work overtime and of intensification of work process. The strike forced the management to return to negotiations on wages. By threatening a new strike in Jan 2006 dockyard workers received indexation for 2006, however, the indexation has not been set definitively for future, therefore, the negotiations have not been finalized.

b) Trade union PRVT at Portoflot held a strike in Nov 2005. The reason was refusal to index salaries for the previous two years. The strike was poorly organized and the fact that the city court announced this strike illegal effected participant’s motivation. Strike committee limited itself to distributing some leaflets and occasional visit of court collectives, while the employers visited court daily and threatened people. As a result, the strike was short of breath, majority of courts have discontinued it and eventually officially temporarily stopped it. The attempts to renew it in Jan 2006 were in vain due to the enterprise restructuring (see part one).

c) At Ford enterprise ‘Italian’ strikes took place in Sept 2005 and Mart 2006, the last one being caused by illegal dismissal of 4 trade union activists, who later were rehired.

a) At the Pulkovo Airport at the end of 2005 stewards and pilots reached a collective agreement partially due to a threat to organize a strike similar to dockyard workers’.

b) In St. Petersburg Sea Port in two out of five ship loading/unloading companies, Neva-Metal and VSK, in fall 2005 dockyard workers managed to reach favourable collective agreements without sharpening the relationship with the employer.

c) PROFTEK In Oct 2006 the collective agreement was re-done at St. Petersburg TEK the condition of which remained at status quo level of previous years.

d) Ford

а) Legal Centre "St. Petersburg EGIDA" organizes semiannual round tables since Feb 2006. In 2006 independent unions started their attempts to determine common problems and to schedule ha plan of common actions.

а) Since the beginning of 2006 Caterpillar-Tosno, Scania-Peter and Heineken have joined SOTZPROF – one of the largest independent trade unions.

b) In July 2006 Avtostroyprof has been created, which is an interregional industries trade union, founded by Ford.

c) In Oct 2006 an agreement in principle has been reached between several independent unions about resurrection of the Confederation of Labour. Should this project succeed, KNR and ВKT will unite on a federal level, which will strengthen success of the positions of the independent trade unions in the country. In Dec 12 Ford has joined the Confederation of Labour, PROFTEK is next to join (workers of steam power stations and boiler rooms).

а) Committee for Solidarity Actions works since Sept 2005. It has been created with a purpose of providing help to the workers’ movement and unification of the trade union representatives and political units (left – Trotskyites, "Workers’ Democracy", socialists – DSPA – Movement of Petr Alexeev, Komsomols – RKSM(b), SDPR, SoDeystvie, right – OGF United Citizen’s Front).

Committee for Solidarity Actions organizes common actions: pickets, rallies, leaflet campaigns and fax blockades. It is a network, and initiative, which does not have fixed leadership, and works on the basis of consensus. The benefit of the Committee for Solidarity Actions is that it can unite the resources, which have not been united on the organizational level, and its drawback is its slow and delayed action.

b) In March 2006 an Agreement on Solidarity Actions has been reached, which established framework of unions supporting each other in difficult situations. This agreement has not been fully used yet.

а) A warning one hour strike of dockyard workers has been held in different locations and team for four days. The striker has the basis – constitutional right to strike and the details of conducting such strike have not been determined or limited by law.

b) 'Italian' strike, which constitutes refusal of intensive labour, working according to the rules, refusal to work overtime. The first major example of such strike was dockyard workers strike during summer-fall 2004.

c) Telephone attack – several people constantly call the management lines so that none of their business contacts can get through

d) Fax blockade – constant sending of fax messages to block the fax line

e) Informal meetings outside of enterprises

f) Mass individual picket is a picket by individuals standing 5-10 meters from each other. With a significant number of participants they can take over the entire crowded street for hundreds of meters. This picket is not sanctioned and can be held practically in any location unexpectedly for the government and employer.

g) Collecting donations for multiple Russia’s orphanages unites workers morally

Despite of many positive tendencies in the area of trade union struggle workers’ movement in the region has not lost its predominantly defensive position. Not only successes, which always end up being below the original demands, but also the trade unions’ goals rarely cross the boarder of maintaining status quo or reaching justice. For example, unions demand:

• to index salary, which means not to decrease because of inflation to maintain it at the same level, instead of demanding salary increase to be ahead of inflation

• to reimburse the additional pay for harmful working conditions, which has been taken away, instead of to demand an achieve reevaluation of work safety conditions and increase of extra pay for work under harmful conditions

• wait for illegal dismissals and then file protests in court as opposed to prepare collective, even illegal, actions targeted for quick return of the illegally fired ones to their work places

• knowing about the intentions of the management to deprive trade union of its office they wait for management’s actions as opposed to rolling out of the campaign against the company’s management system.

To conclude, in the next several years we can expect:

• increase of the number of conflicts and strikes due to improvement of economic situation
• further growth of the trade union movement, including:
• creation of new trade unions
• reactivation of the old ones
• creation of militant trade unions and networking structures such as Collective for Solidarity and Action
• simultaneous actions on several enterprises
• trade union movement becoming overall more political

• shift from defensive to more proactive actions

• growth of the solidarity and activity among employers, which includes special anti-union education, action of the employers’ associations, lockouts mass lay offs.