Azernews.Az

Up to Azerbaijani 500 employees of Italian Todini company involved in road construction in south-eastern Azerbaijan held a protest on Saturday, Yeni Musavat newspaper reported.

The protesters, who were disgruntled with what they believe is low pay and other differences in the terms of employment for Azerbaijani citizens and expatriates, expressed their intention to quit their jobs and blocked road construction equipment. They called on Todini executives to put an end to "disrespect" for Azerbaijani staff and demanded a pay raise, warning that the strike would continue until their demands were met.

According to the protesters, Todini, the main contractor under the project on building the Alat-Astara highway in Azerbaijan’s Salyan region, which was ordered by state-run company Azeryolservice, pays monthly salaries worth 270 manats (around $350) to Azerbaijani workers, while foreign employees receive 1,500 manats, and some are even paid up to 5,000 manats (over $6,400).

500 of the company’s 700 employees are Azerbaijani nationals.

The protesters said that despite low wages at Todini, subcontractor Akkord pays its employees "stably".

"If the subcontractor pays 500-600 manats or even 700 manats [per month] to the workers who do our job, this means that the contractor can do the same," they said. "The Tajiks who work with us get 750 manats, while Azerbaijanis who do the same job get just 90 manats."

The workers also complained of abuse by the company’s head and demanded his resignation.

They also demanded to reinstate the unfairly sacked Azerbaijanis, dismiss the engineering squad consisting of expatriates and grant road construction projects to Azerbaijani companies instead to ensure fair terms of employment.

Construction of the Alat-Astara highway, which began in February 2011, is due to be completed in 2013.