Translated material
Labor Support Fund
The Ministry of Health and Social Development proposes to introduce additional deductions from businesses for non-compliance with normal conditions for workers
The characteristic habit of Russian businessmen to sabotage the norms of the Labor Code concerning the organization of favorable working conditions may soon be punished with a ruble. Officials of the Ministry of Health and Social Development believe that employers should be held responsible for the high incidence of injuries at work and the early loss of ability to work of Russians. Deputy Head of the Ministry of Health and Social Development Alexander Safonov said yesterday that Tatyana Golikova’s department is convinced that entrepreneurs who do not provide normal working conditions are obliged to compensate for the state’s losses by making additional contributions to state extra-budgetary funds. This idea, which looks like a logical continuation of other government initiatives aimed at replenishing the budgets of the Pension Fund, compulsory medical and social insurance funds, has already caused concern among Russian entrepreneurs. From January 1, insurance premiums for enterprises will increase, replacing the Unified Social Tax. For a number of enterprises they will increase to 34% of the wage fund from the current 26%.Alexander Safonov, of course, expected dissatisfaction from entrepreneurs, so he tried to prove as convincingly as possible the need to introduce such measures. Referring to calculations by the International Labor Organization, the deputy head of the Ministry of Health and Social Development said that annual economic losses from non-compliance with safety standards at Russian enterprises cost the country 4% of GDP (1.56 trillion rubles). And although the situation with industrial injuries in 2010 is slightly better than in 2009, the state of working conditions in production, according to the ministry, remains extremely unfavorable. According to Mr. Safonov, at the end of 2009, about 27% of working Russians worked in conditions that did not meet sanitary and hygienic standards. And this year the situation has gotten even worse. All this, the deputy minister claims, leads to people getting sick more often and taking out more sick leave, retiring early and more often turning to the state for various social benefits. And the budget can't handle it. “The employer must be held accountable by law for non-compliance with the norms of the Labor Code and for the unsatisfactory organization of working conditions at work,” stated Mr. Safonov.
Officials of the Ministry of Health and Social Development intend to restore order in the labor sphere in stages. According to the deputy minister, during 2011 the department intends to begin forming a “comprehensive system of labor safety standards” and develop production assessment criteria that are clear to entrepreneurs. At the same time, businessmen will also be checked in a new way - control functions, Mr. Safonov said, will be transferred to certain organizations that specialize in “labor audits” and are equidistant from business and trade unions. The decision itself on the payment of additional contributions to state extra-budgetary funds will be made based on the results of an examination based on generalized labor safety standards. The size of these contributions, which are essentially a veiled fine, and the principles of their transfer to Mr. Safonov’s funds did not explain. “It’s still in the project, initiative stage,” the official explained.
However, the deputy minister made it clear that the initiative of the Ministry of Health and Social Development is already being discussed with representatives of the business community. “We had contacts with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. They are determined to begin a concrete discussion of our plans in 2012,” noted Mr. Safonov. The official emphasized that representatives of the RSPP liked the idea of “specificating contributions.” “If now money is being washed away and everyone is paying for everyone else, then everything is clear: whoever has violations is found pays, whoever has no violations does not pay,” the deputy minister clarified.
However, the RSPP, apparently, does not yet have a consolidated opinion on the initiative of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, and many members of the union have not heard about the plans of Tatyana Golikova’s department at all. “This issue was not discussed at the meetings,” Elena Panina, vice-president of the RSPP and head of the Moscow branch of United Russia, noted in an interview with a Vremya Novostei correspondent. She herself considers Alexander Safonov’s proposal to “place all responsibility on entrepreneurs” rather unsuccessful: “In Russia there are problems with injuries at work and with the organization of working conditions in general, but business is not the only one to blame for this.” In her opinion, in order to comply with safety rules, it is necessary to modernize production, and “for this we need cheap long-term loans and a developed leasing system.” Elena Panina doubts that the ministry's initiative will find unconditional support among members of the Russian Tripartite Commission on Social and Labor Relations.
Alexey Kanevsky, head of the economics committee of the Moscow branch of the all-Russian public organization of small and medium-sized businesses “Support of Russia”, also agrees that the authorities should stop in their attempts to increase the financial burden on business. “Our position regarding the proposal of the Ministry of Health and Social Development is very cautious. Relations between employee and employer should be built on contractual principles, but here, instead, a third force is introduced,” notes a representative of OPORA. Mr. Kanevsky is also confused by the “incomprehensible organizational and legal status” of certification organizations, to which the Ministry of Health and Social Development intends to grant the right to inspect production. “It seems to me that there is a very strong corruption component here. We constantly say that we need to exempt businesses from numerous checks, but words remain words,” points out a representative of OPORA.
However, not everyone in the Russian Tripartite Commission will be against the initiatives of Tatyana Golikova’s department. “It’s good when additional measures are introduced that are aimed at ensuring that entrepreneurs respect the labor rights of workers,” Secretary of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia Alexander Shershukov told Vremya Novostey.