·
Labor collective’s participation in the management of the enterprise and
its control over the production and
financial activities of the employer.
In keeping with the goal of creating among the workers conditions for
upholding their rights, the forbidding of strikes is not
permitted in the bill, and in the case of a breach by the administration
of the rights of the worker, the worker is provided with
the right to stop work until the breach has been remedied. Under
these conditions the worker’s wages are maintained for the
entire period of the work stoppage caused by the above. According
to the bill no essential question of social economic life of
the enterprise will be decided without the participation of the trade
union, including all cases of dismissal of workers.
It is proposed to increase the role of the collective agreements concluded
between workers and administration, representing the
employer (the owner of the means of production), and to create an effective
system of legal control to enforce the compliance
with the conditions of collective agreements.
Inherent in the bill is the clear logical exposition of the labor law,
from abstract to concrete, from proclamation of rights to
guaranteeing them. The bill is characterized by a high level
of codification. In the bill, the Law of the Russian Federation “On
Collective Contracts and agreements”, the Federal Law “On Procedures
for resolution of collective labor disputes (conflicts)”,
and other legislation related to the sphere of labor relations are
codified.
All of this makes the use of the Labor Codex easier for workers and
owners.
The Labor Codex bill strictly distinguishes between the material conditions
under which labor takes place, and which are
changed with changes in techniques and technology, and requirements
for the protection of labor and techniques of safety,
which are brought to the labor-production relationship.
The new Labor Codex takes into account that under market conditions
the main responsibility for maintaining labor rights of
workers cannot be, and should not be placed on the legal system.
Judges cannot cope with the avalanche of court claims by
workers demanding the judicial protection of their rights as workers.
There can only be one way out and this is provided in the
bill – to entrust to the representative organs of the workers, especially
to the Unions, the fundamental responsibility of
organizing the civilized exchange of labor power with the support of
collective contracts and using the legal rights stipulated by
Federal law “On resolution of collective labor disputes”. In
connection with this, the text of the current Federal law is included
in the Labor Codex bill as an inalienable part providing the overall
legal integrity of the Labor Codex.
The present bill takes into account the negative experience resulting
from taking away the unions’ right to administer social
insurance funds, in violation of law under the current labor codex.
The illegal removal of the unions from administration of these
funds has led to their bureaucratization, and has cut them off from
those organizations, which are closest to the workers,
sensitive to their needs, and express their specific trade interests.
This bill confirms the right of the Unions to administer state
social insurance funds, which will reduce the possibility of abuse,
and of inappropriate spending of funds. (p.15). The
management of state resources which have been intended for the satisfaction
of concrete needs of the workers is not the
responsibility of officials, but of those appropriate representative
workers’ organizations.
The bill supports a series of new regulations, which improve the conditions
of labor and payment of workers, raising the level of
their protection under the law.
1.
For the first time in Russia, the bill legislatively establishes the transition
from the 40 to the 35 hour work week (p. 39).
Beyond that, vacation time will be accounted for on the
basis of the 5 day work week, not the 6 day week, which was
established in the Labor Codex of 1971, still in force
today (p.62). The reduction in the hours of work, which is the most
important condition of social progress, has in fact not
been realized in our country for four decades. Accordingly, the bill
I
am introducing liquidates the lag between our domestic
legislation and the level of the most developed countries. These
measures will permit not only the increase of free time
for the development of the workers, but will actually reduce
unemployment, and, accordingly, the budgetary expenses
by liberating a significant portion of the funds expended on
maintenance of institutions assuring the employment and
payment of benefits to the unemployed. The bill will promote
significant replenishment of the budget.
2.
In the bill the right to work is linked indissolubly with the right of
participation in the regulation of labor relations and the
management of industry, without which it is impossible
to introduce the achievements of scientific-technical progress. Laws
guaranteeing this right are contained in the legislation
of France, Germany, Italy, Japan and other states. The bill implements
this right collectively – through the appropriate unions
and other organs of self-management of the workers. In order to do
so the bill provides for the extension, compared to the
current Labor Codex, of the rights of the unions. The bill provides
for maintenance of the unions with office space, communications,
electronic technology and necessary documentation (p.
17). Without the participation of the unions no
essential question of the functioning of the enterprise can be decided.
On
the federal level the unions will be granted the right
of legislative initiative (p. 15, this point will be actualized after
appropriate amendment of the constitution of the Russian
Federation). All of this permits considering this bill, in essence,
as
a Trade Union bill.
3.
A great deal of attention has been given in the bill to concluding and
implementing collective agreements. The bill
forbids the cancellation of the collective agreement until
it is modified or replaced by a new one (p 221). Therefore newly
signed (or changed) agreements will not worsen the condition
of workers in comparison with the previous agreement.
Thus, the bill guarantees the preservation of progressive
changes on the basis of further development of industry and in
accordance with the Constitution, does not permit a deterioration
of the condition of the workers. In order that collective
agreements represent the interests of the collective,
the bill provides extensive opportunities for the members of the labor
collective to read and discuss the draft agreements, and
obligates the administration, as the representative of the employer
(owner of the means of production), to make each newly
hired worker familiar with the text of the collective agreement.
4.
Having labor disputes be resolved at the enterprise takes this burden off
the legal system, and in so doing also reduces
state expenditures. To facilitate the resolution
of labor disputes, the bill provides for holding solidarity strikes (p.
270) and
permits collective action in defense of individual labor
rights.
5.
To prevent forced labor, including work without timely and complete payment
of wages, the bill
-prohibits
·
banning of strikes (p. 265);
·
lockouts (p. 273);
·
payments in kind;
-obligates the administration to pay interest on back wages for the
entire period of their non-payment, at to the State Bank’s
rate and in accordance with the laws of Russian Federation;
- permits the worker to stop work when a violation of his rights by
the administration occurs, until such time as the violation has
been eliminated, with payment at average wages (p.187);
6.
In a general sum, the payment of tariff rates and the associated consistent
payments, should not fall below 80% (p.
170), which corresponds to the global progressive tendencies
to the normalization of labor in accordance with the demands
of technique and technology.
7.
The bill, in providing criminal responsibility for violation of the labor
legislation (p. 290), does not place primary stress
on the individual worker’s litigation in courts, which
are overloaded with cases, but rather on the collective defense by the
workers of their labor rights and the resolution of disputed
matters immediately at the enterprise in the spirit of social
partnership.
Of all of the bills on the Labor Codex that have been introduced in
the Duma, except for the bill of Avalian, this bill is the only
bill which will not worsen the condition of the workers, and therefore
is in compliance with Part 2, Page 55 of the Constitution
of the Russian Federation, which establishes that “Laws may not be
promulgated in the Russian Federation which remove or
reduce rights and freedoms of persons and citizens”. The other
bills worsen the rights of workers, and as such, are
unconstitutional. This bill corresponds to international legal
norms, bringing Russian Labor legislation to conformity with the
recommendations of the International Labor Organization. It does
not permit the violation of those conditions, established by
the United Nations on questions of labor. With this bill, prepared
by specialists of the Foundation of the Workers’ Academy
and the trade unions, we are not counting on the proclamation of rights
of workers, but on the stimulation of the development of
industry which guarantees those rights, by means of bringing those
rights under the management of the workers, principally
through the appropriate trade unions.
By expanding labor rights and the rights of workers to regulate labor relations, this Labor Codex will help to solve the present crisis, to guarantee stable development of the Russian economy and of all social spheres, and to extend and increase the receipt of funds into the state budget. Accordingly, the passage of this law will not require
additional provision of funds from the federal budget.
The timetable for implementation of the new Labor Codex is to be coordinated
with other essential stabilization measures and is
envisaged for 1 January 2002.
Deputy State Duma Oleg Shein