In Akhtubinsk, protesters may go on dry hunger strike

In the course of the meeting of the Akhtubinsk City Assembly, at which deputies made the decision to repay wage arrears to employees of the local auto transport enterprise, the Prosecutor has reported on the violations committed during the tenders for the carriers. The hunger-strikers have declared their willingness to give up water on September 28, if people do not get their money.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that seven employees of the "Akhtuba ATP" (auto transport enterprise) are on a hunger strike and that they demand to repay wage arrears till September 19. On September 21, officials from the local and regional administrations signed the protocol to allocate 5.5 million roubles for repayment of wage arrears.

When asked by the deputies why no criminal cases are initiated on the fact of prolonged wage arrears, Semyon Feingersh, Prosecutor of Akhtubinsk, has answered that the Prosecutor's Office has taken all the appropriate measures to respond to the situation.

Galina Vishnyak, the deputy head of the administration for financial policy and the head of the financial department of the administration, spoke in defence of the city budget. She has explained how the necessary amount is to be allocated from the budget and what kinds of other payments are to be reduced therefore.

The protestors have expressed their indignation about the statements made by Galina Vishnyak concerning the plan to pay off the wage arrears to the employees of the "Akhtuba ATP" within the period of October 2-November 1.

Earlier, the employees of the "Akhtuba ATP" have claimed that the present state of their enterprise results from the irrational city management and that their enterprise has started to face problems when one of the Volgograd companies entered the local passenger traffic market.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.