Today, on 5th of October, 2020, I, President of the FESCO Transportation Group, Arkady Korosteljov, with the General Director of CPV PJSC Roman Kukharukh, at the invitation of the primary trade union organization of the Russian Union of Dockers of CPV, arrived at the port to hold a meeting with representatives of the union and the employees of the company.
At the meeting we were planning to explain the decision of FESCO’s management regarding the changes in the port’s management to the employees of CPV t and to answer their questions. However, immediately after our arrival, without giving us a chance to say a word, people dressed in CPV dockers' overalls without any explanation attacked and injured us. I would like to emphasize that we arrived at the port unaccompanied and opened for communication with the workers.In return, we were confronted with completely unmanly behavior. Aggression towards unarmed and especially towards the leaders who came at your own request, is absolutely unjustifiable and unacceptable. We would like to hope that the real port workers and members of the Russian Union of Dockers were not involved in this attack. We are sure that this whole heinous attack was staged by associates of the former general director of the port Zairbek Yusupov.
We are hoping that the leadership of the Russian Union of Dockers will be able to handle the situation and not allow themselves to be drawn into such shameful and illegal actions. You can see that the unscrupulous former port managers are using your fair name and hiding behind it.
We express our full support to the port workers and their families who are now in fact held hostage by dishonest manipulators.
We intend to develop CPV and will do everything in our power to ensure that the company continues to remain the flagship of the port industry in the region. We guarantee that we intend to fully comply with all the provisions of the collective agreement, our social obligations and with all agreements with the local trade union organization. We fully recognize the contribution of the port workers to its financial well-being and intend to continue to pay all the necessary attention to the well-being of the employees. I repeat: we intend to maintain in full all the social packages of the port workers. No sanctions will be applied to the protesters.
Despite today’s incident, we are hoping for further fruitful cooperation between the Russian Union of Dockers and the FESCO Transportation Group. We are offering you our hand as a friend and asking to stop the protest and return to work.