Tatarstan proposes to involve teenagers in harmful and dangerous industries

Tatarstan is preparing changes to the Labor Code (LC) of the Russian Federation, allowing teenagers (from 16 to 18 years old) to work in hazardous and hazardous industries. Deputies refer to the fact that “in conditions of import substitution” it is necessary to train personnel faster, and by the time they graduate from college, many students do not reach adulthood. Tatarstan’s initiative found support from other regions, but parliamentary lawyers pointed out that the use of child labor is contrary to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and international law. The head of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Yaroslav Nilov, does not object to the work of teenagers at defense enterprises: “Working is sometimes more harmless than being on the street.”

The State Council of Tatarstan Committee on Social Policy has prepared draft amendments to Art. 265 Labor Code. Deputies want to allow the use of the labor of teenagers aged 16 to 18 years “in jobs with harmful and (or) dangerous working conditions under a fixed-term employment contract for practical training in the relevant profession.” The project also provides for full-fledged employment of minors at the enterprises where they completed their internships after receiving secondary vocational education.

Art. 265 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation still prohibits the use of minors in work with harmful and/or dangerous conditions, as well as in underground work and where harm can be caused to their health and moral development.

Also, the law does not allow minors to be forced to carry more weight than the established norm.

As the authors of the amendments note, the note to the list of heavy work and work with harmful or dangerous working conditions (approved by the government of the Russian Federation) states that when undergoing internship, minor students (who have reached 16 years of age) “can be in work included in the list for no more than four hours a day.” In this case, sanitary rules and labor protection standards must be strictly observed. But this permit does not apply to work at height, steeplejack, explosive, underground and underwater work. “The employer may decide to employ persons under eighteen years of age in the jobs included in the list, subject to the creation of safe working conditions. However, the provisions of Art. 265 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation are imperative in nature,” says the explanatory note to the bill. In this regard, the State Council calls for eliminating “contradictions in federal regulatory legal acts.”

The parliament of the republic recalled the launch last year of the federal program “Professionalism” with the goal of “developing the real sector of the Russian economy in conditions of import substitution.”

It allows the implementation of accelerated training programs in vocational schools – in two and a half years instead of four. The age of applicants is 15–16 years. Not all of them will be 18 years old when they graduate. The deputies emphasize that “industrial production in general and mechanical engineering in particular plays an important role in the economy and provides its products with the needs of material production, the non-production sphere, defense and the population”: “In this regard, the training of highly qualified personnel in this area is an urgent need in modern economic realities.”

The document was sent for preliminary consideration to the Council of Legislators at the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

The Federation Council staff noted that the concept of the bill “does not raise legal objections.” And vice-speaker of the upper house Inna Svyatenko said that “the proposed changes certainly deserve attention,” but only subject to compliance with “the whole range of measures for safe working conditions for students.” Tatarstan’s initiative was supported by a number of regional legislative assemblies.

“This is the need of the time,” Yaroslav Nilov (LDPR), head of the State Duma Committee on Labor, supported the initiative. “Today, students without practice are not as in demand on the labor market as those who get an internship during their studies. Plus there is a staff shortage.”

In a conversation with Kommersant, he emphasized that we are also talking about the opportunity for teenagers to work at defense enterprises: “For example, aircraft manufacturing, the Kalashnikov concern – there is a shortage of personnel everywhere. They take pensioners who can no longer stand it and leave. We have a shortage of our own welders. We’re bringing it from Uzbekistan.” Mr. Nilov added that “working is sometimes more harmless than being on the street.” According to him, teenagers should be allowed to do dangerous work only with a mentor, if they have education and follow all labor rules. The head of the committee already discussed this problem with the leadership of Tatarstan when he visited the special economic zone “Alabuga”, where the college “Alabuga Polytech” is located. The issue was also raised at a meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova. “Personally, I will support this bill. We must keep up with the times,” concluded Mr. Nilov.

At the same time, the legal department of the State Duma recalled that, according to the Constitution, “in Russia, as a legal social state, the labor and health of people are protected, state support for family, motherhood, paternity and childhood is provided (Article 7), motherhood and childhood are under state protection (v. 38).” Also, the use of child labor is prohibited by international law (including the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Declaration of the Rights of the Child), Duma lawyers pointed out.

The specialized commission of the council of legislators proposed that the State Council of Tatarstan finalize the draft and submit it to the State Duma. “Lawyers of the State Council are studying the received conclusions,” the press service of the republic’s parliament told Kommersant.

Kirill Antonov, Kazan