Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Russian Federation (Ratification: 1956)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It further notes the conclusions and recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association in Cases Nos. 2216 and 2251, which referred the legislative aspects of theses cases to the Committee of Experts (see 340th Report, March 2006).

The Committee notes the comments of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) dated 10 August 2006, which concern restrictions imposed on the right to strike and the alleged violation of trade union rights afforded by the Convention in practice. The Committee requests the Government to provide its observations thereon.

The Committee recalls that in its previous observations it had requested the Government to ensure that the drafted amendments to the Labour Code take into account the Committee’s previous requests to modify the following sections of the Labour Code or other legislative texts so as to bring them into conformity with Article 3 of the Convention:

–         section 410 of the Labour Code (providing that a minimum of two-thirds of the total number of workers of an enterprise should be present at the meeting and that the decision to stage a strike should be taken by at least half of the delegates present), so as to lower the quorum for a strike ballot, which the Committee considered too high and likely to impede recourse to industrial action, particularly in large enterprises;

–         section 410 of the Labour Code, so as to repeal the obligation to indicate the duration of a strike;

–         section 412 of the Labour Code, so as to ensure that any disagreement concerning minimum services in organizations responsible for safety, health and life of people and vital interests of society, where the minimum services must be ensured during a strike, is settled by an independent body having the confidence of all parties to the dispute and not the executive body;

–         section 413 of the Labour Code, so as to ensure that, when a strike is prohibited, any disagreement concerning a collective dispute is settled by an independent body and not by the Government; and

–         section 11 of the Law on Fundamentals of State Employment and the relevant section of the Law on the Federal Railway Transport, so as to ensure that railroad employees, as well as those engaged in the public service, who are not exercising authority in the name of the State, enjoy the right to strike.

The Committee regrets that several of its recommendations were not reflected in the amended Labour Code. Indeed, only section 410 of the Labour Code was amended so as to lower the quorum for adopting a decision to strike. It appears that, according to the new wording of this section, a workers’ assembly shall be deemed competent if at least half of the total workforce is present. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the Law amending the Labour Code. Hoping that further legislative reform will take into account its previous requests, the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of any further developments in this respect.