17 July 2002
Strike paralyzes asphalt factory in southwestern Belarus

 An asphalt factory in Zhabinka, a district capital in southwestern Belarus, was paralyzed for six hours on July 15 after its employees quit work, demanding milk coupons and proper workwear, as well as an end to chronic wage delays.
About 50 workers gathered outside the management office, refusing to work until their demands were met. The leader of the factory's trade union committee, Anatol Matskevich, tried to calm them down, but in vain. It was not until a regional-level construction official, Fyodar Zakharchuk, arrived from Brest and promised to sort the problems out that the factory's employees resumed their work at about 2 p.m. Zhabinka's asphalt factory is now working at 70 tons per hour instead of 140 tons, and is still having trouble finding buyers for its products.