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The International Transport Workers Federation suspended the Water Transport Workers' Trade Union of Russia July 18 for failing to comply with the federation's codes of conduct.

The biggest transport workers union in Russia with over 350,000 members, Water Transport Union sailors will no longer have access to federation protection from mistreatment, poor conditions or wage reductions.

Pyotr Osichansky, the federation's Vladivostok representative, said workers never enjoyed the rights granted by the federation because the trade union was too loyal to ship owners. Union leaders simply cut out the federation, signing agreements with ship owners that made sailor conditions far worse than the federation allows, Osichansky said.

Nikolai Volkov, leader of the trade union's regional office, expected the suspension would occur. He blames union leaders in Moscow, who squabble with leaders of other Russian unions and frequently complain about each other to the federation's London headquarters, he said.

Volkov, however, also blames the federation. In Russia, sailor wages are set at a federation minimum of $1,100 per month. But in the Ukraine, the federation maintains wages at $800.

"ITF doesn't make an exception for Russia," Volkov said. "And that means that our sailors are out of jobs - ship owners prefer cheaper labor."

Another union, VostokTransFlot, is also on the verge of expulsion from the federation, according to VostokTransFlot union leader Yevgeny Tereschenko. Russian companies lease ships to American firm Trans Ocean Express, which then requires that Russian sailors resign from VostokTransFlot, Tereschenko said. Trans Ocean Express does not allow sailors to contact any unions after getting a job, he said.

"I signed such a contract," said Oleg Shevyrev, 34, who spent eight months with Trans Ocean Express. "My salary was $470 and they then increased it to $650" - well below the federation's required $1,100. Osichansky believes that sailor mistreatment will end if Russian trade unions stop bickering, and if sailors fight more actively for their own rights. He also said that the krai Duma must pass a law requiring all ship owners to make contracts with crew members which meet federation standards.