MTZ Employee: Our Plant Is Running Out Of Money

The flagships of the industry show an increase in stocks.

In Belarus, the growth of warehouse stocks in the industry continues. According to Belstat, in July they increased by another BYN 160 million and amounted to BYN 8.02 billion as of August 1. This is the largest indicator of warehouse stocks in value terms in recent years.

Inventory levels also increased. As of August 1, it amounted to 72.9% of the average monthly production volumes against 71.7% as of July 1. A year ago, the reserves amounted to BYN 5.23 billion, or 54.2% of the average monthly production volume, Belsat reports.

At the same time, the level of stocks is growing against the backdrop of a decrease in production volumes. In July, the industry produced products worth BYN 13.84 billion, which is 12.2% less than in July 2021. And according to the results of seven months, the volume of industrial production decreased by 6.2% to BYN 95.18 billion.

Are financial performance improving?

At the same time, official statistics show a “dramatic improvement” in the financial performance of the flagships of the real sector.

Banki24.by notes that the reason for the rise in financial performance of the flagships in June was the growth in price competitiveness in the Russian market.

But exports to the European Union, according to Eurostat, are just declining. In six months, the EU began to buy goods in Belarus 2.2 times less: from €512.6 million in January to €225.5 million in June.

“Everyone understands that there is no future”

The inconsistency of the situation is also demonstrated by the sources of journalists at Belarusian enterprises.

So, at MTZ, two workers claim that the plant is working, but not all of the products are sold, and many machines are understaffed on the territory of the enterprise, as there are not enough components.

“In general, it all started after the elections: they imposed sanctions and the shops stopped for a short time, but after a couple of months they started working again. And now, from the beginning of the war, until April, they still somehow worked, and then they stopped. Most of the workers were scattered around the shops, and those for whom there was enough room were sent to 2/3 workload, or an unpaid leave, for a month, probably more. And now, apparently, the money is running out,” workers from Belmedpreparaty reported.

The situation of the workers at Naftan in Navapolatsk is also distressing.

“Earnings without additional payments, bare salary and 40% bonus. Therefore, there is a constant stream of layoffs, plus the purges of the undesirable for 2020 continue. The loading of raw materials is minimal at the plant, as the plant works for the domestic market. The moral situation is like in a concentration camp: the guards and the security service are allowed everything, the workers— nothing,” the local strike committee said.

And they added: “They are hoping for the best, everyone understands that there is no future, so they are trying to leave the country.”

In a comment, Dzianis Sadouski, a member of the board of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, noted that the situation at the factories depends on how much their production previously depended on Western imports.

“The principle at the factories is as follows — if they made everything themselves, then everything is OK, they work. If there was an import, then everything costs a stake. People are not fired yet, they even go to work, but everyone at the factories mostly has a piecework-bonus form of payment, so salaries in such cases have fallen by 2-3 times ...” the source says.