With the help of trade unions, 37 dismissed employees of the Moscow metro returned to work

The Confederation of Labor of Russia (KTR), together with the trade union of the metropolitan metro, helped return work to 37 employees fired from the subway in violation of labor laws. The union believes that the dismissals were politically motivated, but the court’s decisions prove “that not everything is lost in the Russian judicial system.” In the Moscow Metro, Kommersant was assured that “the recovery statistics do not differ from similar statistics for any other period.”

On May 31, the Nagatinsky Court ruled to return to work the specialist of the restoration department of the Moscow Metro, Maxim Yakovlev, who was fired by his employer in the spring of 2021. The case was considered again – after returning from the Second Cassation Court. Mr. Yakovlev can take up his duties with the right to receive compensation. This is the latest trial in the case of a number of layoffs in the metropolitan subway, Boris Kravchenko, president of the all-Russian trade union association Confederation of Labor of Russia (KTR), a member of the Presidential Council for Human Rights, told Kommersant. In just two years, he says, 37 people have been reinstated.

In the spring of 2021, the Moscow Metro trade union announced layoffs in the subway. Employees complained that they were summoned to the authorities and forced to leave “one day” by agreement of the parties. Those who refused were fired in violation of labor laws – for example, they were registered as truants. In two weeks, about 50 people have lost their jobs, the union claims. Some of the dismissed were sure that the real reason was their political position. All of them registered on a website in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, the data from which was later leaked to the network. “Everything pointed to the fact that there were lists “from above”, from the leadership of the metro,” explains Nikolai Gostev, head of the territorial trade union of workers of the State Unitary Enterprise “Moscow Metro”. He said that “part of those dismissed for political reasons are metro veterans, who by no means can be accused of disloyalty.” “The people who were technically involved in these layoffs — the heads of the depot, personnel services — did not hide: the layoffs were due to the fact that the workers were on some unreliable lists and groups,” Boris Kravchenko told Kommersant. According to him, some of the layoffs took place with “gross violations” of labor legislation; in a number of cases, the signatures of dismissed employees and “certain other documents” were falsified.

KTR, together with the trade union of the capital’s subway, decided to provide individual legal support to the dismissed. Mr. Kravchenko believes that their number could reach up to 200 people, but only 42 decided to sue the metro. Five decided not to appeal the refusal to the Moscow City Court, but the remaining 37 people brought their cases to an end. “When the appeals of the first ten fired were satisfied, it became clear that we could help the rest,” Nikolai Gostev told Kommersant. “And that the compensation that the metro must pay in connection with the illegal dismissal of workers will amount to millions. We suggested that the metro go to the world and simply restore everyone who contacted us, but in response we received only a reply.

Dmitry Yakushev, a KTR lawyer, draws attention to the fact that in the Moscow district courts and the Moscow City Court, almost all cases were sent to the next instances, and in the Moscow region 16 lawsuits were won immediately. The win, in his opinion, is “excellent proof that not everything is lost in the Russian judicial system.” “We are watching the fate of the reinstated employees. So far, there have been no repeated layoffs, and the atmosphere at work is normal,” Boris Kravchenko noted.

The press service of the metro noted that “in 2021, more than 37 people were fired due to violations of labor laws, the statistics of reinstatements do not differ from similar statistics for any other period.” There were no comments regarding the trials that took place.

Polina Yachmennikova