Things are heating up at the Ford Motors picket line in northwestern Russia's Vsevolozhsk, where plant workers have been on an indefinite strike since November 20. But despite the tensions, it showed the automotive industry hard at work.

Ford has resumed producing its popular Ford Focus model, while the initially 1,500-strong walkout had dwindled to about 400 people by the end of this week. But the trade union that represents the 2,200 workers at the Vsevolozhsk plant is still hard set to stand for as long as it takes and fight for a package that includes higher salaries, better working conditions, and shorter shifts - something it insists is perfectly legal.

"It's so difficult [to talk], there's work to be done," Alexei Etmanov, the young, energetic chairman of the local trade union at Ford, says hurriedly over the phone, his voice muffled by the wind. By Wednesday, the strike was further complicated by an incident with the police: strikers say that 25-year-old Alexander Filippov was hit by a police car and is in the hospital with a leg injury. Police have called the collision a "provocation." This is already on top of the charges that the labor union is filing against Ford Motors, alleging that the company is violating the law with its refusal to negotiate while the strike is still on.

So it's no wonder that Etmanov, who was at the helm of another Ford Motors strike in February, is busy. His picket on Wednesday had to be interrupted by a trip to the local prosecutor's office about both cases - asking for an inquiry into the alleged police hit and charges against Ford.

Last February a days-long walkout paralyzed the plant, but ended with a 15 percent salary increase. "But it wasn't just the salary, it was about shorter shifts, a normalized work shift, better working conditions - issues that still haven't been resolved," Etmanov said by phone Wednesday.

This time, at issue is the 2008 labor contract. Ford workers want a whole package of concessions - an average salary of 28,000 rubles (over $1,120) plus an improvement in conditions - something left over from the last strike's agenda.

"The main thing is the salary, though," Boris Kravchenko, president of the All-Russian Confederation of Labor, told The Moscow News. "That was the point that the labor committee tried to discuss with the employers." According to Kravchenko, Ford refused to negotiate and, "consistent with the law," the labor union went on strike, after a warning strike on November 7.

Trade union representatives met with the company again on Tuesday to discuss further negotiations.

"At this meeting the trade union said they only wished to negotiate on the pay elements of the contract," Ford PR manager Yekaterina Kulinenko told The Moscow News in a state­ment. "The company's position is that all elements of the labor contract package have to be discussed together. When the meeting broke up there was still disagreement on this fundamental point."

Meanwhile, on Wednesday Ford resumed production on a one-

shift basis. According to Kulinenko,

"less than 20 percent of workers have indicated they are supporting the strike," something that Etmanov calls "rubbish."

"Out of three shifts they only managed to get two thirds of workers of one shift," he said of the number of people that agreed to come to work Wednesday.

But despite what is increasingly appearing like a standoff (a regional court ruled the November 7 strike illegal), labor officials describe the strike as just one step of a working relationship with Ford that has generally been constructive. "To be perfectly honest, complaints about working conditions [at Ford] are becoming fewer and fewer," says Kravchenko.

"Some people are saying that this is all politics. But in reality, the relationship with the employer has been a working one all along. The strike is just another instrument in that relationship, which is lawfully regulated, and there's nothing scary about it. Of course Ford doesn't really want to pay more, but judging by their statements they have a balanced position, which creates a good environment for talks."

Because Ford Focus is the most popular model in Russia - with people registering in advance to purchase one - the strikers are frequently on the spot. Some Russian newspapers predicted that a higher salary for the workers meant a more expensive Ford Focus, but Kulinenko called this "speculation." Other experts have pointed out that since workers' sala­ries account for a very small percentage of the retail price of the car, it's unlikely that Ford Focus would become any more expensive. By raising the salary, Ford would decrease its profit margin by a small percentage.

Even so, Kravchenko warns against radicalizing the labor movement. "Don't make revolutionaries out of the Ford strikers," he said. "They are not involved in politics, they are fighting to improve their work conditions."

Last week, Moscow News columnist Marina Pustilnik called the strike

a good example of civil society. Kravchenko agrees. "The mechanisms are there. If every one of us tries to cultivate a [good] employer, a good house maintenance chief who would do his job and not steal... this is normal civic life."

And that was precisely why Etma­nov seemed too busy to talk to journalists on Wednesday.

By Anna Arutunyan