Experts spoke about the increasing cases of death of teenagers at construction sites: illegally hired

In recent years, the construction boom has captured not only the capital, but also other Russian cities. However, there are more and more cases when superintendents compensate for the shortage of workers by illegally recruiting teenagers. Especially often such violations occur during the summer holidays. As a result, accidents occur with minors, up to death at work. “MK”, ​​together with experts, figured out where children should not work, what responsibility employers bear for violating the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, and in which industries most children work in the summer.

So, the other day the prosecutor’s office of the Troitsko-Pechora district in the Komi Republic revealed that the administration of the rural settlement “Priuralsky” sent six teenagers to work on the demolition of a house in the village. The village leadership forgot that the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and the sanitary norms regulating the issue of labor protection for adolescents prohibit the use of children’s labor in construction work. It’s good that this fact was revealed in time.

But often such illegal part-time jobs for children end in tragedies. In July, a monstrous double tragedy occurred in Novosibirsk: a builder father decided to give his two sons, aged 15 and 17, a chance to earn extra money, and, despite the huge risk, he involved them in high-rise work on a 30-story building under construction. Both boys fell off the height of the 26th floor and died; one immediately, and his brother later in the hospital. Investigators opened a criminal case, the contractor and the foreman were detained.

A few years ago in Belgorod, during the illegal work of three 16-year-old boys at a construction site, something irreparable also happened. The guys were sent to clean up the garbage on the 7th floor; they, together with him, began to descend in a construction cradle, which broke off at the moment of movement. One crashed to death, two others received multiple injuries.

But not only construction sites are a mortal danger for child workers. Another fresh example: in Belarus, in the Mogilev region, at the beginning of August this year, a 17-year-old guy who worked there in the summer died at a grain drying complex, despite the prohibitions on this subject in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. He was dragged into the pit of the loading bunker.

Employers hiring teenagers must take into account the provisions of Article 265 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, which lists restrictions on what kind of work it is forbidden to involve children.

Adolescents should not be involved in work that is harmful to their physical and mental health. For example, children cannot carry heavy loads. They will not be allowed into mines or other underground structures, enterprises of the chemical, petrochemical and other industries, mining, welding, thermal power plants, ship repair shops, sawmilling, woodworking and much more. It also prohibits part-time work that could harm “moral development”: this includes nightclubs, casinos and bars, as well as the sale and transportation of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products and erotic materials. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 163 provides a complete list of jobs to which minors cannot be admitted. There are more than 2000 such positions in total.

By the way, with regard to young actors, circus workers, etc., they can be involved in work even up to 14 years old – with the consent of one of the parents, unless the activities in which they participate do not harm the health and moral development of the child .

– Minors should not be involved not only in work that is potentially dangerous for their health, but also in work that interferes with their studies, – added Irina Svyatitskaya, head of the youth direction of hh. – Even if, for example, we take the work of a courier, which, perhaps, is in the first place among teenagers in terms of demand, these should be documents or light parcels, and not transportation, for example, furniture or other heavy loads.

At the moment, 4003 vacancies for Russian teenagers 14+ are posted on the hh website. After the courier, the promoter is in second place. Minors will also be happy to see, for example, as: models for clothing advertising; a novice barista, an employee of an Internet order pickup point, a cleaning employee, an Internet order picker, etc. A note in such vacancies – if under 16 years old, then they will be hired only with the written consent of the parents.

The safest positions for minors are considered to be an order picker in a store, a waiter or a kitchen assistant at a catering point. Note that part-time work as a courier during the summer holidays is the most common among teenagers because of its simplicity, free schedule and good earnings.