Experiencing Glasnost: IWA- | a © In Moscow are (I. to r.) Dennis Bonville, president of IWA-CANADA Local 1-184; Soviet interpreter; Jack Munro; Vladamir Alexeyev, editor of Lesnaja Promishlennost; Terry Smith, [WA-CANADA Secretary-Treasurer; Marina Mussiniants, officer of the International Department of the Woodworkers’ Union; and Gogy Nadareishvily, assistant editor in chief. N the fall of 1989 a three-man IWA-CANADA delegation consist- ing of National Union President, Jack Munro, Financial Secretary, Terry Smith and Saskatchewan Local 1-184 President, Dennis Bonville, visited trade unionists in | the Soviet Union. | The trip which took place from | October 14-24, was organized by the | 8.3 million member Timber, Paper, | and Woodworkers’ Union Central | Committee that represents workers | on over 90,000 job sites in the coun- | try. It offered the IWA-CANADA con- | tingent an inside look at the work and | living conditions of Soviet people in | the Siberian region of Irkutsk. The | region, known for its massive forest industry, is also a large producer of aluminum and chemicals. Irkutsk is 5,000 miles and 5 time zones east of the nation’s capital, Mos- cow. The city of Irkutsk, with a popu- lation of 600,000, was founded in the | 1600s by the Cossacks, and is situ- ated on the Angara River which feeds | into Lake Baykal, the world’s largest freshwater lake by volume. During their tour of the Irkutsk republic, the Canadians also visited forestry complexes in the industrial city of Bratsk, 650 km north of Irkutsk and Ust Ilimsk, a further 230 km north of Bratsk. Ust Ilimsk is situated approximately at the 57° parallel north. The Soviet Woodworkers’ Union, second only in numbers to the coun- try’s agricultural union, boasts of over 175,000 members in the Irkutsk region alone. The delegation was met in Bratsk by Vladimir Trushevskii, Chairman of the Trade Union Committee, Zakhar Novikov, Deputy General Manager and Eduard Evtushenko, General Manager of the city’s Timber Industrial Complex. Bratsk has 80,000 union members, Irkutsk has 40,000 and Ust Ilimsk has 36,000 unionized workers. All workers are organized into state enter- prises in the region. In the region of Irkutsk itself, twenty Soviet trade unions represent 1.5 million industrial workers. Nation- wide over 147 million workers belong to Soviet trade unions. In the city of Irkutsk the delegates, accompanied by Guerman A fanassiev, President, and Sergeui Filatov, Secre- tary of the union’s Irkutsk region, visited a massive industrial wood manufacturing complex which inclu- ded a plywood plant with more than 1,500 workers. The plant contained 18 opening presses and 36 patch mach- ines. The raw materials, mostly northern 3 — and Asian markets. Although the , Irkutsk region is hous: miles from a tidewater port, the Sy ets are able to railhaul and comyl successfully in their m . All Soviet products are kiln with- out the use of chemical wood preser- vatives. Most of the mill's pase con- sists of Finnish technology and machinery from other Scandinavian — countries. Seventy percent of produc- — tion from the Soviet union is exported. _ The Irkutsk region produces about — 1/6 of the Soviet Union's annual pro- duction. Each year more than 200 million cubic metres of timber is con- sumed in conversion plants. In the city of Bratsk the dele; visited a plywood mill, sayunll A planer, and a hardboard re which, in total, consume more thie million cubic metres of wood annt x. The Bratsk sawmill complex covers. 11 hectares under one roof. The nearby plywood plant has 10 lathes, 8 hot presses and 16 lay up lines. Wood by-products are processed into a yeast-like nutrient for cattle feed. The city also has a facility for pulp and paper research. Living conditions in Bratsk, al- though spartan by most western stan- dards, are quite comfortable. Situ- ated on the city limits is a huge apartment complex consisting of 450 flat units, which provide shelter for more than 38,000 people. The apartment units are centrally heated from hog fuel and other wood by-products which originate in the milling operations, Winter tempera- tures can dip as low as 60 degrees celsius below zero in the winter time and can climb up to 30 degrees celsius in the summer. In their concept of trade unions, the Soviets play a much larger role in the day to day well being of citizens than do Canadians — Terry Smith fir and pine is carefully pre-sorted for the plant to get maximum value for the wood. Directly behind the lathes are the dryers for maximum efficiency. Brother Smith remarks that the plywood is of extremely high quality and is in competition for European OVIET citizens enjoy an exten- sive network of social benefits within their trade union. All workers are employees of the state. From the general manager to the clean up person, the employ share a common interest of mi their enterprise more profitable. @ | are more than 20 daycare centres which offer the service for working parents. | 8/LUMBERWORKER/MARCH, 1990 KILOMETERS ENLARGED Among the products produced in the three ities visited are lumber, plywood, pulp cond chemicals. The surrounding areas supply the cities with logs.