President Putin Believes It Necessary To Protect Both Employees And Employers

Russia needs such a labour legislation that would protect both employees and employers and would ensure the transparency of labour relations. This opinion was expressed Saturday by Russian President Vladimir Putin at a conference in Vologda with the leaders of large trade union associations. The President underscored that the laws in this sphere should fix economic and social guarantees, irrespectively of whether a person works in the public sector or at a private company. Such legislation is necessary both for the citizens of Russia and for the economy itself," said Putin. He also noted that in the past few years, the character of labour in Russia had radically changed. Market relations, private capital and new employers have become an important factor in our life of today. According to the President, there are many positive things about this, but there are also quite a few negative implications, because there are still a lot of contradictions and conflicts in the sphere of labour relations now. Putin said that the authorities and trade unions are now partners, and the aim of their work is to ensure social welfare for the citizens. "In order to achieve this aim, we must build constructive relations," pointed out President Putin. Speaking about the conference itself, the President said that he would like to discuss how the trade unions cooperate with federal and regional authorities and with bodies of local self-government, as well as to consider inter-trade union relations. According to Putin, the trade unions are today free from the pressure on the part of the state and are gradually becoming an independent public force, which is a positive process. The Russian chief executive also noted that today it is the country's economy rather than the government that dictates to the trade unions new tasks, new methods and forms of work. This is because there are over 80 percent of companies in Russia in which the state's participation amounts to less than 50 percent, pointed out the President. Therefore, the role of the state in regulating labour relations is getting increasingly recommendatory. Today the government, he said, is called upon to create legal conditions for civilised labour relations.