14.04.09

Analysts note that during the crisis, many companies are placing “business ethics” on the back burner, or disregarding them entirely. This concerns fulfilling one’s obligations to partners and employees. Two-thirds of companies haven't paid their contractors on time, and 40% frequently refuse to pay. 60% of those who lost their jobs were forced by their employers to sign letters of "voluntary" resignation, which is illegal.

The latest information from the research company COMCON indicates that, in business, honesty and decency collapse under the trials of a crisis. They found that 67% of companies delayed payment, and 40% of responders answered that their own enterprise isn't averse to refusing to pay according to contracts. Only 30% have not felt any changes in the financial relations with clients and partners.

Experts say such figures suggest an alarming tendency. Developing civilized business behavior in Russia has been a long and difficult process since the 1990s. But tough times prove that business ethics have not yet taken root.

Non-payment in the current situation is not just an inability to fulfill one’s debts, it becomes a company’s all-purpose excuse, experts say. Often no attempts are made to discuss the possibility of an extension, the restructuring of the payment plan, or to apologize.

Non-payment, which was also a problem in the 1990s, is also a concern for employees. In March, 32% of respondents reported delayed compensation (either their own or a family member’s). One-fourth of respondents had been dismissed or lost their job due to downsizing. 

Less than half (47%) had received all the money that was owed to them. Only one-fourth received the legal severance pay of 2 months average monthly salary. About one-fourth were given two months notice as dictated by law. A notation about the dismissal at the employer’s initiative in connection to downsizing the organization’s work force was made only in 18% of cases.

Experts believe such workers’ rights violations are widespread in Russia. “Workers’ rights don’t exist in Russia,” said Oleg Shein, Vice Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Labor and Social Policy. According to him, when a worker attempts to assert his rights, he almost always fails. He believes that in a crisis situation, when dismissals become widespread, trade unions could help a lot. He concludes, however, that trade unions in Russia are weak, so workers get abused.

Source: «Новые известия»