Norilsk Nickel officials offer no concessions to hunger strikers

Mikhail Prokhorov, CEO of Russian metals giant Norilsk Nickel, visited hunger-striking union leaders on Monday, but said the firm's management would not yield to pressure over a pay dispute, the company said. "The participants in the action have been told that a hunger strike is not a method to solve disputes, but is meant to exert pressure on the management," a Norilsk Nickel spokesman said. "They have been told there will be no concessions."

Union leaders at Norilsk's Arctic Division, which employs 60,000 and hosts the firm's main mines and plants, last month threatened a strike to press demands for more wages, more holiday and more information including on managers' salaries. They started a hunger strike on February 6 after more than two weeks of talks with management brought no results, the Russia Journal reported.

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