Around 1,000 workers at the factory halted production on November 20, demanding a 30% pay rise. Some 600-700 workers crossed the picket line on November 28, and production was partially resumed. But the number of strikers has since risen to 650 out of about 2,000 workers employed by the carmaker in northwest Russia.
A previous dispute between management and employees was resolved after a one-day strike in March 2007, when the plant administration made concessions, concluding a new collective labor contract providing higher wages and increased employment benefits.
Average wages at the U.S. auto giant's sole Russian plant are about 21,000 rubles ($860) a month, according to the factory administration.
About $230 million has been invested in the Russian plant since the production of Ford Focus models started in 2002.
The Ford strike has been heralded by many Russian social observers as the birth of organized union activity in post-Soviet Russia.
