Bashkortostan Labor Ministry named "bringing average salary closer to national level" as its main task

UFA, 1 February 2019. /Bashinform News Agency, Kamil Khasanov/ translated by Tatiana Aksyutina/.

The main task of the authorities in charge of the labor sphere in Bashkiria is to bring wages to a decent level. “Today the average salary in the republic lags behind the average in Russia by 25%. We should increase wages at a faster pace than is being done nationwide, and in the past two years we have succeeded: the growth rate is 1.5-2% ahead of all-Russian”, said Yury Melnikov, Interim Minister of Family, Labor and Social Protection of Bashkortostan at a press conference at the Bashinform News Agency. The press conference was devoted to the “The Future of the Labor Sphere” international forum, which will be held in Ufa on February 4 - 5.

Yury Melnikov explained the choice of the International Labor Organization (ILO) made in favor of Ufa, by the fact that Bashkiria had been one of the first subjects of the Russian Federation to adopt the “Decent Labor” program based on the international concept. It happened back in 2013. Two years ago, at the ILO forum in Norway, experts praised the experience of our republic.

Speakers from around the world will discuss what the future of the labor sphere will look like. The topic of the event is designated as “Decent Work for Everybody”. In the framework of panel discussions, it is planned to discuss youth employment, including in the context of the new challenges and opportunities of the digital economy, the development of the social partnership between business and trade unions, issues of gender equality and inclusive work culture.

As for the labor relations in Bashkortostan, in addition to the need to increase wages, the Ministry of Family and Labor sets several more guidelines. In particular, to continue working on the safety of working conditions: even though occupational injuries have been decreasing for three years now, more than a quarter of jobs (27%) in the republic are connected with hazardous working conditions. It is also necessary to strengthen the "social dialogue", involving mutual consideration of the employees and employers interests. At the republican level, it is being made through a tripartite commission established by the state, business (employers) and trade unions.

The Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Bashkortostan, Marat Khusainov, named the wage arrears the most acute problem. The debts of enterprises, taking into account bankrupt enterprises as of January 1, amounted to 560 million rubles and covered about 9 thousand employees from 85 organizations.

Politicians, officials, employers, trade union leaders from around the world will speak at the international forum in Ufa. Among the speakers are Alexander Shokhin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Mikhail Shmakov, Chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, Heinz Koller, Director of the ILO Europe and Central Asia Bureau, Maria Eugenia Longo and Delphine Mercier, heads of the Sociology Committee of the International Sociological Association. Admission to the forum, which will take place in the “Toratau” Congress Hall, is free but requires prior registration by the link.