Legal Case of the Week: Court orders disbandment of Interregional Labour Union of Automobile Workers

posted 15 Jan 2018, 13:00 by Rights in Russia   [ updated 15 Jan 2018, 13:10 ]


On 10 January 2018, a St. Petersburg court disbanded the Interregional Labour Union of Automobile Workers over accusations it received funding from abroad, The Moscow Times, reported: "A St. Petersburg court has disbanded one of Russia’s largest labor unions over accusations that it received funding from abroad.  The Interregional Labor Union of Automobile Workers (MPRA) was one of Russia's last remaining major unions with 3,000 members across 40 regions. The union gained prominence after staging a 25-day-long strike at a Ford assembly plant outside St. Petersburg in 2007. The St. Petersburg City Court ruled in favor of the MPRA’s dissolution on Wednesday, siding with the city prosecutor’s office."


The prosecutor's office alleged that the union was engaged in political activity, campaigned to change legislation, and had received foreign funding. While prosecutors alleged the Union had received over 32 million roubles from an international union federation based in Switzerland, the MPRA stated that it had received only $6,000. The MPRA said it would appeal against the decision. 


In a statement published online on 11 January 2018, the MPRA said it would "do everything it can to ensure that the Supreme Court rescinds this shameful and catastrophic decision,” The Moscow Times reports. 

Source:
'Major Russian Labor Union Disbanded by Court For Foreign Ties,' The Moscow Times, 11 January 2018
"Заявление МПРА о продолжении законной деятельности," Межрегиональный Профсоюз Рабочая Ассоциация, 11 January 2018


Comments