FNPR proposed to the State Duma to send unemployed pre-pensioners to retire early

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR) proposes to introduce a number of amendments to the draft law “On Employment of the Population”, which is being prepared for the second reading. In particular, it is proposed to give unemployed citizens who have no more than five years left before retirement the possibility of early retirement if the employment service does not employ them within a year. The document with the proposed amendments (available from Vedomosti) was sent by the FNPR to the Ministry of Labor and the State Duma.

Trade unions also propose to introduce the concepts of “partially unemployed” and “partially employed” into the bill (this definition is used by Rosstat, but does not appear in the current law on employment).

According to the FNPR, “part-time employment” can be considered a situation where a citizen is hired under an employment contract, but by agreement with the management, his working time is less than the norm provided for by law, and the salary depends on the output or hours worked. If the work time of an employee is forced to decrease for external reasons, such as quarantine, a reduction in production for economic reasons, or an emergency, then this is already “partial unemployment,” follows from the proposals.

It is proposed to fix the definition so that Russians can count on benefits for “partial unemployment”. His FNPR proposes to calculate based on the number of hours by which the employee’s working hours were reduced, multiplied by 2/3 of the tariff rate for a working hour. The maximum amount of such benefits is proposed to be set at the level of the minimum wage (SMIC). The subsidy period should not exceed 180 days in total during the year.

Trade unions also believe that the new version of the bill should clarify the criteria for employment. In the current version of the project, the employed include citizens working under an employment contract, individual entrepreneurs, self-employed, owners of subsidiary plots and manufacturers of handicrafts selling products under contracts, military personnel, founders of NGOs, farmers and those who provide services and goods under contracts civil nature. The latter often cannot provide for themselves through their activities, therefore, for the second reading, trade unions propose to clarify that they can be considered employed only if their income exceeds the minimum wage.

The new edition should also specify the requirements for the work offered by the employment service, FNPR is sure. According to current legislation, the service must take into account the qualifications, specialty of the Russian, the proximity of the place of work to the house and the average earnings for the last three working months. At the same time, the wording of the draft law for the second reading lists only general criteria for a suitable job (profession, qualification, type of employment, salary that a citizen can apply for, etc.) without specifying exactly how the vacancy selection mechanism works. The FNPR proposes to use the wording of the current law, adding the condition that if such an offer does not appear within three months, then the employment service can offer a place with a salary at the level of the average for the region.

According to Rosstat, only a quarter (25%) of Russians are trying to get a new job through employment services. The majority look for vacancies through friends, relatives and acquaintances (71.7%).

For those Russians who have completed military service by mobilization or contract, the FNPR proposes to pay the maximum amount of benefits during the entire period of unemployment. Now the maximum amount of payment is 12,792 rubles, the minimum is 1,500 rubles. Citizens who have worked 26 weeks during the year before registration receive 75% of the average salary in the first three months and 60% in the next three months.

All incoming amendments and proposals are accumulated by the profile committee of the State Duma, a representative of the Ministry of Labor told Vedomosti. Now the working group with the participation of representatives of the expert community and departments is finalizing the document for the second reading, he added.

The working group that is preparing the amendments has already agreed on the principles of work, its head, the first deputy chairman of the United Russia faction in the State Duma, Andrey Isaev, told Vedomosti. “There will be amendments from the second social partnership (RSPP. – Vedomosti), and from members of the working group, and from public organizations, from deputies. We will tabulate them and move on,” he added. The amendments and the satellite law “On Platform Employment” can be finalized in May, Isaev added.

Earlier, small businesses presented their vision of amendments to the law “On Employment”. Adopting it in its current version may introduce too burdensome obligations for entrepreneurs, Alexander Kalinin, president of Opora Rossii, said in a letter to Labor and Social Protection Minister Anton Kotyakov. Small businesses proposed to clarify the concept of self-employment and exempt companies with up to 25 employees from informing employment services.

The possibility of early retirement is a significant measure of social support for pre-retirees, Askhab Indarbaev, an expert at the Center for Strategic Research (CSR), notes. Citizens of this age group often face difficulties in finding employment, as employers prefer younger and more motivated applicants. The opportunity to retire earlier than the formal deadline exists even today, said Alexander Shcherbakov, professor at the Department of Labor and Social Policy at the Institute of Public Administration and Management of the RANEPA. Today, pre-pensioners who have lost their jobs due to redundancy or due to the liquidation of the enterprise have such a right. But this requires work experience – at least 25 years for men and at least 20 years for women. Now this early period is two years – the expert considers an increase in this time to five years as a “passing” proposal.

At the same time, the introduction of the concept of “partial unemployment” may have risks of abuse, since employers can specifically transfer employees to such a status in order to reduce the cost of the wage fund, Shcherbakov believes. In addition, it would be right to minimize the requirements for registering the unemployed and establish criteria for the effectiveness of the employment services, the expert believes.

The law could give citizens the right to register and receive unemployment benefits in any city in the country (so far this can only be done at the place of registration), Indarbaev added. At the same time, it is important to prescribe the obligation to issue temporary registration at the place of stay, as this can lead to an increase in the number of people who, due to the regional coefficient, want to register and receive unemployment benefits in large cities, he explains.