The Association of Russian Trade Unions of the Defense Industry (ARPOOP), together with the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of the Russian Federation (FNPRF), addressed President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin with a request to prohibit the purchase of military equipment abroad. In their letter, the trade unions expressed disagreement with the statement made by Defense Minister A. Serdyukov that the ministry is not going to purchase Russian equipment at raised prices.
In particular, on this issue, Andrei Chekmenev, chairman of the All-Russian Trade Union of Defense Industry Workers, said the following: “Prices have been formed for a long time. Moreover, it is disproportionately low for the industry itself. The Ministry of Defense claims that it is incorporating 20% of the profitability into the cost of production of military products. But who determines the cost? Specialists from the ministry consider the cost of production and ask the question why the metal is bought at this price, and not at another, lower one. Manufacturers in response begin to explain that, of course, you can buy cheaper, but for this it is necessary to purchase not one, but several tons of metal, and they need literally 10 kilograms of liquid metal for a specific production. The Department of Defense also sets completely unjustifiably low wages at defense factories. In the best case, the average salary, which was registered in the past year, is multiplied by the so-called. deflator. This is an incomprehensible figure, born in the bowels of the Ministry of Economy. For 2010, for example, the approved deflator is 1.034. This figure has nothing to do with real inflation. That is, the salary of 16 thousand rubles, taking into account the deflator, will increase only to 16, 5 thousand rubles, while at the enterprise it is at the level of 25 thousand rubles. As a result, a manufacturer of defense products will pay a salary that is higher than what the Ministry of Defense pledges. At the same time, official representatives of the Ministry of Defense pretend that they are unfamiliar with such generally accepted concepts as a tariff agreement, a collective agreement, in which the salary levels of staff members of enterprises are clearly outlined. So there are disputes between the plant and the Ministry of Defense. Officials from the ministry do not recognize the cost that the company calculates and sets their own condition - either we buy at such a low price, or we don’t buy at all. The plant is forced to agree, despite the fact that for it it will not be 20% of the pledged profitability, but only 5%, since it sets the cost of production somewhat higher than the ministry. As a result, a powerful enterprise operates only at a loss. And here the law comes into effect, which prohibits the export of certain types of products, and enterprises have no choice but to agree to the conditions set, since they cannot sell their products to anyone except the Ministry of Defense. The defense industry enterprises with the Ministry of Defense have not market, but, one might say, dictatorial relations. Another problem is the delay in the distribution of government orders. The state order for 2011 has not been distributed until this time, and it is already no less than the seventh month. As a result, the enterprises practically did not work for the first half of the year. What about the workers? Should they receive a salary for these six months? At the same time, the production of military products costs, only something else is going to be assembled. But there are a large number of enterprises that are focused only on the defense industry. They have no production of either a citizen or consumer goods. And in this situation, the plant is forced to go into debt in order to pay people wages, which in the second half of this year will have to produce military products. And the Ministry of Defense claims that this does not concern us at all, even if they receive a salary only for the five months that they actually worked, and the salary that we have included in the cost price. The Ministry of Defense has effectively separated itself from industry. Earlier in the Soviet, as well as in the first post-Soviet years, the defense complex has always been in the first place. The state has an army and an industry that prepares weapons. Now the Ministry of Defense indicates that we are the army, and the military industry does not concern us, let the Ministry of Industry and Trade be engaged in it. If a domestic plant exposes its products at a high price, we will not buy it, we will buy it elsewhere, the Defense Ministry said. Moreover, the head of state also said, buy where you want. If this is another "scarecrow" like, look, directors, you can finish badly - that's one thing. But if this later turns into reality, then the existing concept of national security will be in danger of complete collapse. The Ministry of Defense adheres to the chosen position that they are ready to purchase only the best at the lowest price, regardless of who will produce these products. In today's marketplace, this works quite well. But in the defense industry of our state there are no customary market relations. The Ministry of Defense is a monopoly buyer, there is no access to the international market, and enterprises today are in an extremely difficult financial situation after 15 years of non-work. Enterprises are afraid to raise the issue on their own, because they are afraid of losing government orders. But they can complain to me as the head of the branch trade union committee."
The Russian defense industry today operates according to a system of military representations, with a group of representatives of the Ministry of Defense at each enterprise. Careful military acceptance is a special institution; the entire process of manufacturing military products takes place under the direct control of the Ministry of Defense. And it was Russian weapons that have always been famous. They control all incoming metal, components, and thanks to this, 100% good products are obtained at the output. For example, the price for automatic machines of the Izhevsk plant is much higher than for those produced in other places, but at the same time they are still bought, and the reason is high quality.
Today there is a difference between the selling price and the cost of factories for specific types of weapons. Thus, it is known that the prime cost of the Mi-17 helicopter is $ 4 million, and is sold for export for $ 16 million. The T-90 tank has a prime cost of about $ 2.3 million, and is sold for export for $ 6-7 million. Of course, the state is simply obliged to sell for export at a higher price, this is a kind of support for domestic producers. At the same time, high prices do not scare off foreign buyers, since the quality of Russian military equipment has been tested by many years of experience in application in real conditions. For example, Indians, who are well versed in military equipment, prefer to buy expensive Russian T-90s, because they know that this tank will serve for many years and, moreover, flawlessly.
True, today there is a reorganization of the quality institute, acceptance is simplified, the number of people is reduced. The entire defense industry is also decreasing, where 15 thousand people previously worked, now there are 2 thousand. Some enterprises will not have their acceptance at all, it will be distributed to 2-3 factories. This is less convenient, and as a consequence, quality may suffer.
On the other hand, marriage is quite possible today. Firstly, if for a long time no complex product has been produced, then it is rather difficult to reproduce it anew. Then the factory workers sometimes resort to tricks, which, as a rule, ultimately result in a marriage. The second reason is extremely low wages and, most importantly, unskilled workers. If today the salary at a defense enterprise is 8 thousand rubles, then what quality can be required from a person who only yesterday worked on the land was an ordinary peasant, and when suddenly it was necessary to increase the volume of current production, the plant is forced to collect people from the surrounding villages.
Today, the Ministry of Defense is gradually moving away from funding experimental design and research projects. The ministry is now being seriously reorganized with one goal - austerity. But when economy turns into an end in itself, you can put any enterprise in such real conditions that it has only two options - either to make a marriage, or to completely cease to exist.
Scientific institutions have been put under especially severe conditions of economy. In 2009, the Ministry of Defense announced that enterprises must first develop something useful, produce a prototype, test it and show it, and then the Ministry will look at the results and maybe do a favor and order a new product. But where can factories get money for such curtsies? Today it is difficult to imagine that defense enterprises with their current financial condition will be able to afford to invent something. As a result, the Russian defense industry is at a broken trough, when they cannot sell their products directly, and their own military department does not need it. What this can lead to in the end, it is obvious and not experienced in financial and other matters to a person - the collapse of the independence of the national defense of the state.
