Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2024, Publicación: 113ª reunión CIT (2025)

Federación de Rusia

Convenio sobre la protección del salario, 1949 (núm. 95) (Ratificación : 1961)
Convenio sobre la protección de los créditos laborales en caso de insolvencia del empleador, 1992 (núm. 173) (Ratificación : 2012)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of the ratified Conventions on wages, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 95 and 173 (protection of wages) together.

The Committee notes the observations of the Confederation of Labour of Russia (KTR) concerning Conventions Nos 95 and 173 received on 31 August 2023.

Article 4(2)(a) of Convention No. 95. Payment in kind. Allowances appropriate for the personal use and benefit of the worker and his family. The Committee notes that in its observations, the KTR indicates that the Labour Code does not require that, when wages are paid partially in in-kind allowances, such allowances are suitable for the employee and his family, intended for personal use and in accordance with their interests and produced at a fair and reasonable price, as required by article 4 of the Convention. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.

Article 7 of Convention No. 95. Works stores. Further to its previous request, the Committee notes that the Government’s report does not contain any relevant information in this regard. Therefore, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged in order to ensure that, where works stores for the sale of commodities to the workers are established or services are operated in connection with an undertaking, the workers concerned are free from any coercion to make use of such stores or services, and that where access to other stores or services is not possible, goods are sold and services provided at fair and reasonable prices, or that stores established and services operated by the employer are not operated for the purpose of securing a profit but for the benefit of the workers concerned (Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2).

Article 8 of Convention No. 173. Rank of privilege of workers’ claims. The Committee notes that, in its observations, the KTR indicates that: (i) while workers’ claims are given priority under Federal Law No. 127-FZ of 26 October 2002 (the Insolvency Act) and are ranked second in the hierarchy of priority claims, decisions by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation have permitted concurrent payments within the same second-priority category to other creditors, such as tax authorities for tax debts on compulsory pension insurance premiums: given that section 134(2)(6) of the Insolvency Act stipulates that claims within the same priority are satisfied in the order of their calendar registration, the KTR considers that this could effectively bypass the prioritization of workers’ claims; and (ii) although section 138 of the Insolvency Act allocates 70 per cent of the proceeds from the cases of sale of pledged property to secured creditors, with 20 per cent potentially covering wage claims if other assets are insufficient, section 73(2)(1) of the Tax Code allows tax authorities to take debtor’s property as collateral for the payment of tax debts, often resulting in tax claims being satisfied before workers’ claims in the event of the employer's bankruptcy. The Committee requests the Government to provide its comments in this respect.