30 years ago the Joint Council of Workers' Associations was formed. Then other regions of the future PMR followed this example. In fact, it was the force to revive future Pridnestrovie subsequently.
At first, the Joint Council of Workers' Associations was a trade-union body coordinating the activity of strike committees of the separate enterprises. In 1989 strikes became a protest form against discrimination of that time MSSR management. The Pridnestrovian cities and districts opposed acceptance of a package of laws on languages which actually put in an unequal position with Moldavians other nationalities of the federal republic.
Strike in Tiraspol, 1989. A photo from the book «Creation of the PMR»
In the late eighties of the XX century in the MSSR the republican and party elite united with Romania oriented creative intellectuals headed so-called «People's Front». In the right-bank regions of Moldova, there was centralized transportation of activists from far away districts on the nationalist «great people's assemblies» in Chisinau.
Three years prior to the creation of the Joint Council of Workers' Associations the all-union Law «About the State Enterprises» and «About Councils of Labour Collectives» was adopted. Council of Workers' Associations was created at all enterprises and had rather serious powers. They could elect a leadership team, starting with foremen and to directors inclusive.
As for the bill on the language, it was originally supposed that local Councils of People's Deputies would take part in its development. The X session of the Tiraspol City Council on 25th May, 1989 made the offers providing an introduction to the MSSR two state languages Moldavian and Russian. Similar decisions were made by Councils of People's Deputies in Bendery and Rybnitsa.
Strike in Tiraspol, 1989. A photo from the book «Creation of the PMR»
But in Chisinau there was drafted the secret bill which was planned to be submitted for consideration of the Supreme Council of the MSSR on August 29.
Tiraspol found out about the unofficial bill. On 8th August the deputy of the MSSR Igor Zaslavsky read it during the Tochlitmash Council of Workers' Associations meeting. The secret bill was published for the first time in the factory newspaper «Kirovets».
At the same meeting of Tochlitmash Council of Workers' Associations its chairman Ivan Parafilo came up with the idea to unite all Tiraspol Council of Workers' Associations for the organization of a protest. This idea found support on a meeting of the city party economic activists two days later in Sovremennik Cultural Center (present Palace of the Republic). And already next day, on August 11, in the Kirovets Cultural Center (present Expocentre of Pridnestrovie) there took place the constituent assembly of the Joint Council of Workers' Associations with more than 450 representatives of Tiraspol labour collectives. The head of Elektromash Council of Workers' Associations Boris Stefan was elected as the Chairman.
In total 31 persons, including several directors of the enterprises entered to the Joint Council of Workers' Associations. For example, in its structure, there were heads of Elektromash, future first President of the PMR Igor Smirnov and Kirov Plant director, the Hero of Social labour Anatoly Bolshakov.
The Joint Council of Workers' Associations held the first meeting on August 14. There the decision on a two-hour precautionary strike was made.
«The integrated Tiraspol Council of Workers' Associations created on August 11 addresses the 11th session of the City Council with the following offers:
- Not to hold the session of the Supreme Council of the MSSR planned for August 29, 1989, on consideration and the adoption of bills. To hold a national discussion and vote for bills in the city, regional and settlement councils. In drafts of laws on the languages brought up for national vote offers of the 10 and 11 sessions of the Tiraspol, city council have to be considered.
- To announce on 16th August city precautionary political two-hour strike. In case of rejection by Presidium of the Supreme Council of the MSSR of the 10 and 11 sessions of the Tiraspol City Council offers to resume a city strike.
- To create at the enterprises, in the organizations and city institutions working committees for providing together with administration, party and other public organizations of public order, labour discipline at the enterprises and in the residential districts assigned to them.
- In case of obstacles from heads of the enterprises, secretaries of the party organizations creation of working committees, the OSTK of the city grants the right to this Council of Workers' Associations to create the working committees having all completeness of the power at the enterprises in the organizations.
- The Joint Council of Workers' Associations of the city considers that for the best informing the population of the republic on a situation in Tiraspol it is necessary to publish materials of the 11th of sessions of the Tiraspol City Council in the Dnestrovskaya Pravda Newspaper (the Comment was published on August 17) and till August 20 to extend in the cities of Moldova.
- The Joint Council of Workers' Associations recommends for participation in the meetings of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the MSSR of the following companions: the first secretary of KPM L. V. Tsurkan, chairman of the OSTK B. M. Stefan.
- The Joint Council of Workers' Associations takes the responsibility for maintenance of public order and discipline on production, providing normal life of the population of the city during the aggravated situation».
At the XI session of the Tiraspol City Council on August 14, most of the people's deputies supported holding a precautionary strike. It passed since 14:00 to 16:00 on August 16 not only in Tiraspol.
Strike at the Kirov Plant, Tiraspol 1989. The photo from the book «Creation of the PMR
The enterprises in Bendery and Rybnitsa also struck. There participated 28 labour collectives, in total 27 thousand people. There were also enterprises which in view of specifics of the activity could not stop even for two hours but nevertheless supported striking.
Chisinau tried not to notice the events. But for prevention, they invited first secretaries of Tiraspol and Bendery City Committees Leonid Tsurkan and Pavel Tsymaya in the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Moldova.
Every other day after the strike the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the MSSR approved the initial version of the bill «About the Status of the State Language in the MSSR» and also «About functioning of languages in the territory of the MSSR», «About return to the Moldavian language of Latin graphics». They will be accepted on August 29 when it will be not the precautionary, but the most real strike.
Strike at the Kirov Plant, Tiraspol 1989. A photo from the book «Creation of the PMR»
Kirov Tochlitmash became the first again. It stopped in the morning on August 21. On the same day staff of Elektromash and Plant of Concrete Goods No. 6 followed the Kirov example. Next day at the city stadium there took place the fifty-thousand meeting on which the address to all residents of Moldova, to the Supreme Councils of the MSSR and the USSR was accepted.
«We address to all responsible for the solution of this vital for the multinational people of the republic question. We address your heart and mind, hoping for your philanthropy and reason. Companions! Let's slowly, through joint efforts fairly solve the situation», - it was the beginning of this document. Further, there were the same offers to the republican authorities that were sounded at the first meeting: to consider the opinion of Tiraspol in laws on language and to submit them for the national discussion.
But the silence was the replay. Only workers of right-bank Moldova did not keep silent. All the republic enterprises joined a strike. It is remarkable that the creation of the Joint Council of Workers' Associations became an example in the all-Moldavian scale. On August 23 in Chisinau there took place the constituent congress of the Joint Council of Workers' Associations of Moldova in which 527 delegates representing 194 enterprises and the organizations participated.
The Congress decided to begin a general political strike on August 24. In total 211 labour collectives from all the MSSR participated in it. Even more than four hundred enterprises expressed solidarity with striking having no ability to stop a working process.
Part of labour collectives stopped a strike on September 15 when preparation for the Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the session of the Supreme Council of the USSR at which the discussion about situation in Moldova had to be began. However, 145 enterprises struck till September 23.
Further events showed that the party management of the MSSR acts for the benefit of nationalists from «People's Front» whose slogans became more and more radical. In the conditions of the accruing conflict between Chisinau and Pridnestrovie representatives of the OSTK became initiators of referenda on which citizens supported the creation of the Pridnestrovian republic. Then they took an active part in the formation of the state institutes of the young republic. In 1992 many of them rose in defense of the PMR.
Anton Egorov
