ENGLAND’S opening World Cup match could be disrupted by Russian factory workers who are planning a protest to coincide with the game.

Employees at the Red October Steel Works in Volgograd, which is close to the stadium where England will face Tunisia on Monday, are planning a protest over new measures working practices.

Due to efforts intended to reduce stores of hazardous materials which could be used by terrorists, factories have been asked to change the way they work before and during the World Cup.

Red October workers are also unhappy at proposed wage cuts and delays as the factory grapples with restructuring, a corruption investig-ation and tax troubles, prompting them to plan a protest timed for the city’s first World Cup match.

Authorities are apparently trying to head off trouble through pressure and promises of cash. “I am worried about what is going on here,” said 38-year-old metal welder Mikhail Privalov as he mopped the sweat off his brow while entering the factory, which sits in the shadow of the gleaming Volgograd Arena.

“The management is handling this situation very badly.”

The factory, whose faded red and yellow front still bears the emblems of the Soviet Union, is famous for weathering shells and gunfire from Adolf Hitler’s armies and continuing steel production during the vicious Second World War Battle of Stalingrad, as the city used to be called.

“We’re continuing to work but we don’t really know why, when our wages have been cut so low. The administration keeps promising us things but who believes them?” said Vitaly, a father of two.

The exact number of people on temporary lay-offs is unclear, but local journalists and factory workers estimate that more than half of the factory’s 3500 employees are out of work for the next month.

About 70 steelworkers staged a walkout last week. “I need to feed my family and kids,” said 37-year-old Denis Mozlyakov, who participated in the walkout. “I didn’t see another way out.”

The following day, union representatives penned an open letter to President Vladimir Putin, in which they described mass lay-offs and insufficient funds for the full payment of wages, calling it “a catastrophic situation which could bring the factory to a complete standstill”.

The union then announced a protest rally on the day of Volgograd’s first World Cup match.

Since then, the administration has sought to placate workers, notably with assurances that May’s delayed wages will be paid.

Other workers were less optimistic, describing their uncertainty and distrust in the administration’s promises.

Mozlyakov, who has worked at the factory for three years, said: “Every day there are new rumours. I can’t believe any of them. The factory has turned into a swamp of lies and deception.”

Sergei Zhukov, a local economic journalist, said the factory’s financial difficulties reach far beyond the World Cup.

In 2016, six plant managers were detained in a corruption scandal, suspected of stealing millions of dollars. Meanwhile the tax inspectorate has launched legal action against the current management, which denies wrongdoing.