The trade union of Vilniaus Public Transport (VVT) workers is seeking to improve working conditions and therefore is calling a strike “to the bitter end”. A bus driver says it is a result of the management’s failures to address long-brewing issues.
The action is to start on October 3, the union leader Algirdas Markevicius has announced, and includes a demand to increase wages for all employees by at least 10%.
The strike is being held after the union has failed to resolve a year-long disagreement with the Vilniaus Viesasis Transportas (VVT) management over the methodology for calculating workers’ wages and improving working conditions. Public transport workers in Vilnius are demanding a five-day working week and a guaranteed 30-minute lunch break after five hours of shift, but the company has allegedly not agreed to put that in the collective agreement.
According to a member of the VVT workers’ union, bus driver Grigori Plaskovsky, the strikers want to see their wages meet at least the national average.
“At the moment the monthly salary of a driver who works in public transport in Vilnius is about 1,000 euros, hardly a big wage. Moreover, we can all see how the prices have gone up – for accommodation, for services, for food. In fact, in order to earn more, drivers are forced to work overtime, go to work on weekends. This makes them feel like hostages at their work, they see only work, work, work, and they have no time for their personal life, for their families,” Plaskovsky said.
Because of the pressure at work, many quit, look for other employment opportunities or retrain.
“They simply leave for better-paid jobs or go abroad, to countries such as Norway, Germany, where they can earn more. They see no prospect of staying here because the management does not see any real solutions to these problems – higher wages, better working conditions,” he says.
The union is also not satisfied with working conditions: shifts are too long, there is no time for lunch or even bathroom breaks, and drivers have to speed in order to keep up with their schedules.
“The necessary time for the driver to rest during lunch is not allocated. Schedules are made with great irregularities, there are cases when a driver can only afford to have lunch after six hours of work, if at all. Moreover, speeds in the city are such that if you want to hit the schedule, you have to drive 60-70 km/h, and this is a violation of safety rules,” the driver says.
This puts the passengers in danger too, Plaskovsky adds.
According to Darius Aleknavicius, director general of VVT, the management is looking for solutions to improve working conditions. However, he accuses the trade union of reluctance to seek compromises.
According to Plaskovsky, the union and management have been embroiled in legal wars for years.
“There has been a psychological war when they constantly want to take something away from us, to worsen working conditions, to take away allowances, which were previously stipulated in the collective agreement. Now, they want to take them away from us,” the driver says.
The worsening of working conditions and wages is, therefore, the main reason for the upcoming strike.
“At the moment, the management has unilaterally terminated the collective agreement. That is, the wage system is now practically hanging in the air, it depends entirely on the director, on his indulgence. He has already removed from the social package jubilee payments which were due to drivers at the ages of 50 and 60, he has removed payments for pregnant women, severance pay when a person retires, he has also removed free rides,” the driver is indignant.
All this has increased the tension and dissatisfaction among the workers, so many leave the company. It will not be possible to attract new employees for 900 euros a month.
“It is not very realistic because young people see the real situation, what is going on in the labour market and what the costs are of housing and other things,” says Plaskovsky.
According to VVT director general Aleknavicius, there is a shortage of workers not only at VVT, which services about 80% of Vilnius public transport routes but also in the entire passenger transport sector. According to him, this is due to the ageing of the staff and the failure to attract new workers.
The company claims that it is regularly raising salaries and improving the working conditions of the employees.
According to Plaskovsky, however, the municipal company is cutting corners to solve the staff shortage problems. For example, it has reduced the age requirement for bus drivers to 18.
“Well, how can we even discuss this when the driver is without experience, without any aptitude? They do not even have B-category skills and have to be issued D-category to be able to drive buses, to be responsible for people’s lives,” the driver says.
Plaskovsky has been working for VVT for 15 years and says the collective agreement was rather strong in the beginning.
“I would even say one of the best in Lithuania because, indeed, all these guarantees worked. That is to say, the wages were relatively good. I even have my payslips. Fifteen years ago, I was making about 2,000-2400 litas a month (680-700 euros). And after 15 years, it was 900 euros. Now, you have seniority, experience. But at the moment, my pay is 1000-1100 euros, which means that it has actually grown by 300 euros,” Plaskovsky says.
Trade union leader Aleknavicius says he hopes that the strike can be avoided. However, if it goes ahead, the union must ensure the passengers that services run at 50% of capacity at least.
This, however, will still cause inconveniences to passengers.
“Of course, we would not want the residents of Vilnius to suffer, but these are the measures we are forced to take,” says Plaskovsky. “We have no other choice but to fight for our rights.”
The strike has been long in the making. Initially, it was prevented by a court and later, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the Lithuanian government declared a national state of emergency, which precluded all strike action.
“We were waiting for the moment when they’d finally allow us to demand our right for decent wages, for better working conditions,” Plaskovsky sums up. (LRT/Business World Magazine)
