Riot In Pinsk: Dozens Of Workers Occupied Store Building, Demanding Payment Of Wages

The Raduga store closed on April 6, and did not pay off the staff.

On April 16, in Pinsk, employees of the Raduga retail chain - about 50 people in total - gathered in a closed store, demanding payment of wages.

The Raduga store on Brestskaya Street in Pinsk closed on 6 April. A week earlier, the administration had gathered workers, and announced that their retail facility was being transferred to Santa Retail.

Seller Maryja, who is raising five children, told tut.by about this.

-They brought us together and said that we were bought by Santa. We went to work, as usual, because we were told, they say, "we do not know when we will close." On April 5, we went to work, as on a normal working day - and we were told that today was the last working day, the store is closed since tomorrow, - Maryja explained. - But they still owe us wages. We are waiting for the salary for March for the third day. At the end of the month, only the advance was received.

- The Raduga trading house was closed, but we were not warned about it in advance, - said baker Mikhail, who is now in the store on Brestskaya Street with his colleagues. "On April 5, we were simply presented with the fact that April 6 was the last working day. They told us to quit voluntarily, with a further transfer to Santa. Santa is ready to take on all employees. People asked: what should we do for two months while our store on Brestskaya Street is refurbished? They were asked to leave at their own expense. And many have loans to pay.

On March 16, workers were invited to a meeting at the closed store:

- They said to come by 9.00 today. We came - we said to write resignation letters voluntarily. We refused, - says Maryja.

The employees of the Raduga store decided not to disperse - and still remain in the store for about four hours.

- People want to quit with compensation - in the amount of three average salaries. Not with recalculation of unused vacation, as we are told, but with compensation. But the administration offered us to quit only by agreement of the parties, - Mikhail explained.

The workers drew up a collective appeal to the labor protection inspectorate.

"On April 14, our salaries were not paid, and there were salary delays in the previous months as well. Also, we were not notified that the Raduga store at 37 Brestskaya Street, Pinsk, was closing and the whole team gets thrown on the street," they wrote in their letter demanding an inspection.

Employees of the Pinsk City Executive Committee and a representative of Santa-Retail have already visited the workers.

- We explained to the representative of Santa that we have no questions to the retailer. Everyone is happy to go to work for them. Questions remained only for Raduga, - says Mikhail.

Earlier, "Raduga" reported that until April 20, it would close 12 of its retail outlets in Salihorsk, Slutsk and other towns and cities of Belarus. They will be replaced by Santa Retail and Euroopt, Leader-Press wrote.