20.10.06

Changes to Labor Code of the RF:
Organizing Worker Safety on the Job
Tatyana Terehova
HR Solutions, Alinga Consulting Group

Legislators have changed practically every article of Section X: Worker Safety within the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. This should come as no surprise as recent statistics have been disturbing, with on the job accidents increasing year after year. Trade unions have also been lobbying hard, calling the attention of labor inspectors to any violations they find as well as drawing the attention of legislators to the problems surrounding existing legislation.

The amendments, which come into force this month (October, 2006) have toughened worker safety requirements, given more powers to regulatory bodies, and clarified legal requirements.

We shall consider the most essential changes:

First, Article 209 spells out worker safety requirements, how government inspections of work places should be conducted, and clarifies the requirements for certifying workplaces and working conditions which had been previously mentioned in Federal Law 181-FЗ from 17 July 1999. Chapters 34 and 35 now specify both the normative requirements of worker safety, and the duties of the employer and the worker when on the job. Article 213, titled "Medical Examinations for Some Categories of Workers," has been added to require the employer to pay for specified medical examinations for the employee.

Also, Article 217 now specifies that all organizations involved in producing goods or services and who employ more than fifty people must organize a worker safety department. Previously, only organizations with more than one hundred employees were held to this requirement. The worker safety TYPEer employed in this department must be certified in his/her qualifications. Employers may still use the outsourced services of worker saftey companies, but these companies must also now be accredited.

Chapter 35, titled "The Organization of Worker Safety" has formed an official list of required working conditions to be checked by labor inspectors, the reasons a labor inspection may be initiated, and the rights of the inspectors.

Those working for the labor commission have the right to:

• Upon showing their certifications, to freely and without hindrance conduct an inspection of any organization, irrespective of that organization’s organizational-legal structure or ownership type or type of ownership, including workplaces operated by private entrepreneurs;
• To request and freely receive any documents or other materials needed to carry out their inspection;
• To conduct related observations and make needed measurements and calculations.

Chapter 36, titled "Maintaining Workers' Rights Concerning Worker Safety," basic additions have been made to Article 219 concerning compensating workers working with hazardous materials or in hazardous conditions. "Compensation" is defined as benefits or privileges given to employees to help compensate for or avoid such hazardous conditions, which cannot be prevented even by modernizing the means of production. Government regulation of wages also stands to be modified based on a planned tripartite commission on the regulation of labor relations. Furthermore, supplementary wages may be established by collective agreement or by local statutory acts. However, in the case where the employer has provided for safe working conditions, confirmed either by certification or by labor department inspection, these supplementary wages are no longer required by law.

The wording of Article 221 has been changed to more precisely delineate requirements for providing personal safety for each worker. Namely, the requirements are: certification, providing workers at employer expense with any safety equipment required by law, and conforming to state norms on sanitary standards.

The Labor Code also contains new financial regulations on worker safety. According to Article 226, not less than 0.2 percent of expenses incurred in production (of goods or services) should be devoted to worker safety. The worker should not bear any of these expenses. Organizations and private persons are, of course, not prevented from devoting voluntary expenses to improving working and safety conditions which are tax deductible under Clause 7 of Article 264 of the Tax Code.

Articles 227 through 231 have also been substantially changed to clarify issues concerning accidents at the workplace, the duties of the employer in case an accident, and how accidents must be investigated. More precise descriptions of requirements and investigative norms have been introduced in the new Articles 228.1, titled "The Procedure of Notification of Accidents," 229.1, titled "Deadlines for Investigating Accidents," 229.2, titled "Procedure for Conducting Investigations of Accidents," 229.3, titled "Accident Investigations Conducted by State Labor Inspectors," 230.1, "The Procedure for Registering and Accounting for Accidents on the Job." The quantity and clarity of these amendments shows that worker safety has become a major issue of interest for the state.

Workers' constitutional right to safety in the workplace is finally becoming enforceable. The state has now established guarantees, assigned the obligation for maintaining worker safety to the employer, and established a method to regulate employers on this issue. Now, on issues of worker safety, the guilty can be held accountable.