Uralkali has adopted a Regulation on the Competition of mine machine Crews and Technological Shifts of concentrating plants, "Working Millions." The company will allocate 4 million rubles to reward the best labor collectives. The main criterion in the competition is labor productivity. The winners will be declared on the basis of the results of 2004.

"Uralkali's products have won a world-wide recognition, we sign contracts for the delivery of potassium fertilizers with the largest international companies," says Maxim Bakshinsky, General Director of Uralkali. "This year, we are going to increase the sales, which means that we aim at higher efficiency, growth of labor productivity. Russia is becoming an open country and is beginning to live in accordance with the universal economic laws. And these laws say that efficiency may be achieved by a company that does not accept egalitarianism. The principle "a minimum social package to everybody" is not acceptable here. Only those must be allowed to earn who want to earn. Uralkali is ready to create favorable conditions for the best professionals, hard working people and will reward those who work with maximum efficiency."

For a miner crew to participate in the competition it must exceed the plan targets - only in this case it will be considered as a candidate for the reward. The work of technological shifts will be assessed from the standpoint of productivity growth and the percentage of potassium chloride extracted from the ore. An obligatory conditions for all competitors is the absence of accidents and violations of labor discipline.

The productivity targets set for the competition participants are rather high but the winners' rewards are high as well. The mine machine crews and the technological shift which will take the first place in the competition will receive 400 to 500 thousand rubles and 600 thousand rubles, respectively.

The work of the competition participants will be assessed by a special commission which will wholly consist of the representatives of the labor collectives - the most authoritative and respected specialists. The commission is headed by City Duma deputy Vladimir Konovalov, an adviser to the General Director of Uralkali and a potassium worker with a 48-year service record.

"This year, the enterprise has to work harder, we have to step up the production," says Vladimir Konovalov. "Hence higher requirements to professionalism and efficiency of those who are directly engaged in ore extraction and production of fertilizers. Of course, all participants cannot become winners - a competition is a competition, but this is a excellent school of mastership and an incentive for growth."

For the "Working Millions" project the year 2004 is an experimental year. In the future, the competition will possibly be extended to the other categories of Uralkali workers. This will depend on the results which the competition participants are to achieve in 2004.