Ural: The Strike 1,200 Meters Down

Severouralsk, Sverdlovsk Region, Russia, 2008.

In the spring of 2008, miners at Krasnaya Shapochka, a mine founded in 1934 and part of the Severouralsk Bauxite Mine owned by RUSAL, launched an underground strike, demanding not only higher wages, but also an end to mandatory Saturday shifts, better working and safety conditions, and modernization. In March 2008, average wages at the mine were about $1,028 for an underground face miner, about $963 for a development miner, and about $670 for a blaster. Mining takes place at a depth of about 1,200 meters, and the ore is used to produce aluminum. The protest actions included a hunger strike by miners underground that lasted several days. The workers’ demands were partially met.

To this day, Russia still has no strong independent trade unions.