UNI Commerce launches organising project in Moscow hyperm,arkets, together with Russian affiliate

First of its kind in Russia:
Uni Commerce launches project to organise hypermarket workers in Moscow

UNI Commerce and the Russian Commercial Workers' Trade Union will cooperate in a project to organise the Metro Cash & Carry wholesale hypermarkets in Moscow. The first market was recently opened close to the Sheremetyevo airport and several others will follow suit.

Also in Russia, the organising work will be done by young people. Three future organisers participated in a meeting with UNI Commerce last week at the trade union headquarters in Moscow.

The first project of its kind in Russia, this organising effort has already attracted much attention and interest in Moscow trade union circles. It will build on the experiences from Poland, where UNI Commerce and Solidarnosc have worked together for the last two years, with good results.

At a project meeting last week in Moscow, between Jan Furstenborg and Olga Vinogradova of UNI and Juri Bobkov and Tatiana Krylova of the commerce union, agreement was reached about a joint approach to the organising task. This will include some new structures to be established within the Moscow commerce trade union, to accommodate for the Metro workers. Also training activities are foreseen.

The project has been conceived in cooperation with Ver.di, the German UNI Commerce affiliate. Ver.di has also been actively supporting the Polish Real and Metro Cash & Carry organising project.