Over quarter of Russians convinced nothing can be achieved with strikes – poll

(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 27, 2013) The faith of Russian citizens in the efficiency of going on strike has decreased – the number of those considering strikes as the only way to resolve issues has gone down in the past years, while the number of skeptics grew considerably, a poll showed.

In 1989 17% respondents considered strikes to be the only way to have their demands met and only 11% expressed the same stance in June 2013, sociologists of Levada Center told Interfax regarding the research results released on June 25.

Twenty nine per cent of those polled in 2013 believe a strike is the last resort, which however sometimes can not be avoided in the present situation, while 44% supported this point of view in 1989.

Currently 6%, are against, which was 14% in 1989. They think that striking is an unacceptable way of protesting. The number of people convinced that nothing can be achieved with strikes has increased considerably – from 5% to 27%.

At the same time, many respondents say that a strike is a normal form of economic fighting – 22% (12% in 1989). The majority of such respondents are among unemployed people (29%), students and pupils (26%), employees and businessmen (26%), men in general (27%), Russians below 40 years old (24%), with secondary education (24%), without high consumer status (24%) and residents of cities with a population of 100,000-150,000 people (23%).

Executives and senior managers (20%), businessmen (17%), ordinary Russians with secondary education (14%) and Moscow residents (28%) believe that having demands satisfied by striking is the right way.

The opinion that nothing can be achieved by striking is most popular among workers (32%), pensioners (30%), women in general (29%), Russians below 25 years old (33%), with education below secondary (32%) and residents of cities with population of 100,000-150,000 people (31%).

Pensioners and unemployed people (9% both) said most often that strikes were unacceptable and Russians 40-55 years old (8%), with secondary education (10%) and Moscow residents (11%) shared this stance as well, sociologists told Interfax.

The poll was held among 1,600 people over 18 years old in 130 settlements in 45 Russian regions in early June.