Workers of the world, unite!

To all unions and workers organizations from the union committee of the factory «Metallist» of the town of Uralsk (Kazakhstan)

    Dear comrades!
    The workers' collective of our factory declared an indefinite strike on September 1, 1999, demanding that the administration pay off three-year-old wage arrears (the workers have not received their wages since 1997), the establishment of workers control and the complete nationalization of the factory. Picket lines are set up regularly. A strike committee was formed in order to control the managerial activity of the administration. The strike committee has held several meetings and demonstrations that have been attended by many workers. Traffic and railways have been blocked in protest. The workers stand resolutely against the predatory policies of the so-called «reformers» who are responsible for the continuing destruction of machine building industry and the military industrial complex of our country. Our factory was put under the jurisdiction of different ministries, afterwards it was transformed into a private company and changed hands several times. A ruthless system of exploitation and oppression of the working class developed. The state structures and the judicial system are opposed to the interests of the working masses and the recently adopted labor code constitutes the legalization of this anti-worker policy. The workers have been pushed to the limit, already ten workers have died in the past half year, some have committed suicide. The monopolists of the service industries (water, electricity, heat, gas and other utilities) cut off electric power, water, and gas to entire workers' neighborhoods. Only thanks to the struggles of the workers' families were these services restored to some houses. The workers cannot send their children to school. On top of this massive starvation has become an imminent threat. Since the workers have not been paid, they have been unable to set up a strike fund. The situation is similar in other factories in our town. Therefore we ask your fraternal material support, particularly with food and warm clothes for the children of the workers. This support would raise the morale of the striking workers. In this case the myth spread by the propaganda apparatus of President Nazarbaev about the prosperity of the people of our country would be exposed as a filthy lie. If the government of Kazakhstan dares to prevent material aid from workers abroad from reaching the workers of Uralsk, this would become a major political scandal.

Union committee of the «Metallist» factory,
Strike committee of the factory.

    Contact addresses and telephone numbers:
    1) Leningrad, (812) 114-7936, Anatolii;
    2) 417005, Kazakhstan, Uralsk, Z. K. O., Urdinskaya, 1/1, 9. Telephone: (31122) 6-23-56, Pozhidaev Vladimir Tikhonovitch (co-chair of the strike committee);
    3) Uralsk, (31122) 2-19-63 (fax), Kochetkov Pavel Mikhailovitch;
    4) http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Senate/4580/zashchita.html;
    5) editoria Boad of «Proletarskaya Gazeta»: www.pgazheta.ca; comrade@peterlink.ru.