VLADIVOSTOK PORT SUMMED UP RESULTS FOR FIRST HALF OF 2004

By preliminary data, Vladivostok Commercial Sea Port (VCSP) handled 3.82 million tons of cargo during January - June 2004 (+8.5% on the first half of 2003).

70% in this turnover was export steel products. Breakdown of the total turnover by destination was as follows: export - 3.07 million tons, import - 252,700 tons, coastal - 473,300 tons. The port received 1,387 ships (compared with 898 a year ago) and handled 63,047 wagons.

Vladivostok Container Terminal (VCT) handled 45,563 containers in the first half of 2004 (+10.1%). As spokesman for VCSP said, coastal traffic (bound to/from Kamchatka, Sakhalin and Chukotka) was 24,779 containers (+4.8%), with import and export traffic being 9,395 (+7.8%) and 11,389 (+26.1%) containers respectively. - Irina DROBYSHEVA.

SALARIES PAID AFTER HUNGER STRIKE ONLY

About 400 companies in Primorsky Krai fail to pay salaries on time, and hunger strike becomes an effective means to get honestly earned salaries. Five hunger strikes were held in the region during last two months.

Primteploenergo's workers in Mikhailovsky Raion, who were receiving no money during two months, declared intention to organize a hunger strike in May. Local prosecutors started a criminal investigation of this case, and company management immediately drew a loan to pay back wages.

Two of five strikes were held at Rakovsky open-pit coal mine. Miners did not receive wages for several months of 2003 and for two months in 2004. After a criminal investigation was started, mine management produced a schedule for wage repayment but did not comply with it. About 80 miners started a weekly hunger strike on 18 June, with 4 strikers hospitalized in process.

These cases are just reflections of a larger-scale trend - failure to pay wages on time. Yury Chernozub, head of legal department at the State Labour Inspection's office in Primorsky Krai says: "50,392 workers received wages only after action taken by labour inspections. Wage arrears reach 285.5 million rubles." Control of compliance with payroll regulations has become one of priorities for labour inspections.

Some companies pay their employees cash without proper accounting documentation and tax deductions, which means no social guarantees. Other employers assign workers to job before signing a contract and then either delay payment or pay nothing at all. The sectors with highest percentages of labour law violations and non-compliances are private business, budget-paid organizations and fishing industry, Yury Chernozub continues.

Punishment for failure to pay wages during two months is an administrative fine of 5 to 50 minimum monthly wages. For a repeated violation, a manager can be disqualified for up to 3 years.

During this year, 152 notices of labour law violation were sent, 16 warnings were given and 43 managers were held administratively liable in Primorsky Krai. 12 criminal investigations were opened over failure to pay wages, two of which have already been sent to court. By words of Yury Chernozub , these actions do not guarantee that back wages will be paid to workers, for instance, in a situation, when a company is not paid for its services on time: "This problem has not been solved at the legislative level, and the mechanism for getting back wages paid is too complicated and clumsy."

By data of the Federal Labour Inspection, there were 379 companies who owed wages to their workers as of 24 June, of which 121 were budget-paid organizations. Total wage arrears reach 691 million rubles. - Anna SAZYKINA.

HIGHER-CALORIFIC COAL PRODUCED IN LUCHEGORSK

Luchegorskoye open-pit mine, a division of ZAO LuTEC, fulfilled its semi-annual production plan at 100.7%, said spokesman for LuTEC.

Increase on the first half of last year was 73,000 tons. 3,166,000 tons of coal, or 29,000 tons above the plan, was supplied to Primorskaya GRES power plant.

During this period, 12.5 million cubic meters of overburden was removed. First time ever in the mine's history, average calorific value of coal exceeded 2,000 kcal per 1 kg (plan - 1,995, actual - 2,071). This became possible mainly due to growing output at Luchegorsky-2 new open-pit mine where coal has a calorific value of 2,400 kcal. - Olga DOBROLYUBOVA.

BAIKAL-AMUR RAILROAD WILL HANDLE TURNOVER OF 187 MILLION TONS BY 2010

By year 2010, cargo turnover at the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM) will be 599 billion ton-km, as was announced at the economic forum "BAM - Investments in Russia's Future" held in Tynda as part of festivities on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the beginning of construction.

As spokesman for the Far Eastern Railways informed, a railway line Berkakit - Tommot - Yakutsk is under construction. It is of much importance for Yakutia's economy, for development of mineral deposits in its vicinity, for more rational transport routes to Russia's northeast areas, for elimination of the seasonal principle of cargo delivery to outlying Far North areas.

With OAO Russian Railways' active support, the Yakutian government is seeking for investors interested in developing the Elginskoye coal field, completing and joint operating of approach roads. Investments already sunk in this field exceed 11 billion rubles. There are several real proposals, treating the transport infrastructure as an integral component of the coal field development project, which means millions tons of additional cargoes, thousands of new jobs and a new impulse to the entire region's development.

As foreseen by the General Scheme for Railway Transport Development, the region's cargo traffic and BAM's turnover will grow by 46% (on year 2003) by year 2010 and amount to 187 million tons and 599 billion ton-km.

The critical component of this growth will be both increase in cargo transit and development of the economic and natural resource potential of areas adjacent to the railroad. Thus, it is expected that development of Chineyskoye iron ore deposit will start in the nearest future, with ore shipped to Far Eastern ports and foundries in Kuzbass.

OAO Russian Railways plans to invest over 30 billion rubles in development of BAM and nearby areas in next few years, its president Gennady Fadeyev declared at a briefing in Tynda dedicated to the 30th anniversary. These resources will be used for an upgrade of Trans-Baikal Railroad from Karymskaya to Zabaikalsk, of a border crossing to China, for raising BAM's throughput capacity till Komsomolsk-on-Amur, including laying of the second line, electrification of the initial section, organization of a repair base for expanded locomotive fleets. - Yevgeny ITAROV.

"PACIFIC MERIDIAN" GOING TO START SOON

The prequalifying commission of the 2nd international film festival of Asia Pacific nations, scheduled for 3-8 September in Vladivostok has practically singled out films to be shown.

As the festival's press secretary Dmitry Chubayev told "ZR," it is already known that the programme "Special Viewpoint" will include films by well-known Korean film directors Kim Kee Duk ("Samaritan") and Keng Taek Kuaka ("Street Dog"), who starts shooting a new film "Typhoon" in September. Shooting will be done in Thailand, China, Pusan and Vladivostok.

The "Special Viewpoint" will also include the North Korean film "A woman Soldier's Note" and two Japanese movies - "Bright Future by Kiyeshi Kurosawa and "Hotel Venus" shot in Vladivostok last year and awarded by a prize in the "Perspective" contest of the last Moscow international festival.

The programme "Films-Laureates of Asia Pacific Film Festivals" will include movies awarded by prizes at well-known international film festivals held in Asia. The Indian festival in Kerala will present "Abouna" ("Small Hut") jointly shot by Chad and France.

The public will also see 2 films awarded at the Pusan international film festival - "The Spring and the Delight" (South Korea) and "The Last Life in the Universe" (Thailand).

The Melbourne film festival will be represented by "Japanese Story" and "Fast Film" (both produced in Australia). The public will also see the famous Canadian film "The Attack of Barbarians". It became a laureate of the Bangkok international film festival and Oscar winner as the best foreign film.

The programme "Retrospectives of World's Cinema Masters" will be dedicated to prominent Russian cinema figures. The public will see 5 films by film director and artist Sergei Paradzhanov, whose name UNESCO has given to this year. An exposition of his drawings and sketches will open on 5 September in the Ocean Cinema Theatre.

Specially for the festival in Vladivostok, the Russian State Film Fund will provide films featuring another prominent actor and film director - Mikhail Chekhov. These films are "The Man from the Restaurant" by Yakov Protazanov (Russia, 1927) and "Rapsody (USA) from the times when Chekhov worked in Hollywood. The great Russian actor opened a studio here and taught his own actor techniques.

The festival's president in this year will be People's Artist of Russia Oleg Tabakov and vice president will be Merited Artist of Russia Sergei Stepanchenko, with the international jury to be presided by People's Artist of Russia Sergei Yursky. - Irina DROBYSHEVA.

ELECTRIC TARIFF HIKES FOR HOUSEHOLDS ON KAMCHATKA WILL NOT EXCEED 5%

Viktor Myasnik, director general of Far Eastern Energy Managing Company, declared at a news conference that electric power tariffs will grow no more than 5% on Kamchatka and 1.5% in Primorye.

Viktor Myasnik started hearing reports by energy companies under his supervision on performance in the first half of this year. He pointed out such improvements in KamchatskEnergo's performance as cost reduction approaches, decrease of outstanding payables and receivables. As a result, it has reached a breakeven level instead of losses at 900 million rubles predicted earlier this year. Viktor Myasnik also gave positive comments of performance of OAO GeoTherm. - Yevgeny ITAROV.