Women fight for worker's rights in Russia

I came across two articles on Thursday about women taking some very different approaches in their fight for worker's rights in Russia.

First is the story of Anna Klevets who applied for the job of driving trains in the St. Petersburg subway system only to be told that the job was too ‘dangerous’ for a woman. In fact a law passed in 2000 in Russia lists more than 400 jobs government officials deemed unfit for women. Klevets lost on an appeal against the 2000 law at Russia’s Supreme Court, but is now taking a new case to a court in St. Petersburg looking to change the working conditions in the city’s metro, to make them safer and thus, according to the 2000 law, women-friendly.

One job that women can hold in Russia is that of stewardess, though that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get paid for your labor. That’s the problem facing a group of 11 women formerly employed by the now-bankrupt Siberian airline KrasAir.

KrasAir went bankrupt last October, owing its employees 340 million rubles (or $10 million) in back wages. The stewardesses in question say they're each owed eight months’ worth of back wages. There have been conflicting stories over whether or not KrasAir has put money into an account to pay their former employees, so the women launched a hunger strike in protest. So far the hunger strike has been going on for a week, with the women vowing not to eat until their paid the money they’re owed.