Профсоюзы и общественное мнение в Республике Башкортостан в конце XX – начале XXI в.

Abstract

The article examines the dynamics of public opinion regarding trade union organizations in Bashkortostan in the post-Soviet period. The analysis of the scientific literature indicates that the problem is insufficiently studied. The main sources used in the article, in addition to archival documents, were the materials of the periodical press. The work notes that during the transition to market relations, trade unions restructured their work with an emphasis on strengthening the protection of the rights of employees, began to interact with all branches of government, negotiated with employers and concluded agreements and collective agreements. Non-fulfillment of agreements by enterprises and the state forced trade unions to organize collective actions: rallies, strikes, pickets. In the early 1990s, as sociological studies showed, citizens’ trust in trade unions remained high, paradoxically combined, however, with distrust of all political forces. Most likely, it is precisely distrust of trade unions that explains the attempts to create new public organizations in the 1990s, uniting ordinary workers. Many workers expressed dissatisfaction with the indecisive actions of the trade unions, urging them to pay attention to protecting the interests of workers. Special studies have found a decrease in the authority of trade unions among workers from the early 1990s to the early 2010s. At the same time, trade union leaders noted the passivity and inertia of ordinary trade union members, their non-participation in collective actions. Thus, on the one hand, the workers recognized the trade unions as the only defenders of their interests, on the other, they assessed its activities poorly, reluctantly participated in collective events.