MINSK, 7 December (BelTA) – Equal rights of workers in Belarus and Russia have become one of the solid pillars of the Union State of Belarus and Russia, Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation Maksim Topilin told the media ahead of the joint board meeting of the Belarusian Labor and Social Security Ministry and the Russian Ministry of Labor and Social Protection in Minsk on 7 December, BelTA has learned.
“Belarus and Russia have developed a unified legislative framework in terms of social legislation and rights of workers. Workers' rights have been made equal in the two countries. This is a serious basis of the Union State. Our ministries have fulfilled all the instructions the two heads of state gave in this regard,” said Maksim Topilin. In his words, the ministries continue considering issues related to the approximation of legislation in terms of identical approaches and principles of solving similar problems.
The participants of the meeting plan to consider ways to improve mechanisms to prevent industrial injuries, develop information systems in social security in Belarus and Russia, and also take stock of the progress made in the implementation of the agreements made at the previous meeting.
“We will discuss everything related to the analysis of occupational hazards and diseases, establishment of a system to prevent them. For Russia, reducing the working-age mortality rate is the key goal and a reserve to increase life expectancy. It is important to encourage employers and employees to have safe and healthy working conditions,” Maksim Topilin noted. Russia has already launched one of the mechanisms to stimulate employers to improve working conditions, namely a differentiated rate in pension insurance. In 2013 the country enacted additional tariffs (up to 8%over the standard tariff) in the pension fund depending on special assessment of working conditions. If conditions are worse than the standard, then an employer must transfer to the pension fund 8% above the standard payout. If they are at the proper level, additional fees are not required. The measure has proved effective. Working conditions are improving. Russia also plans to revise temporary disability insurance to give employers an incentive to take care of the health of workers.
The Russian minister also spoke about the novel concepts in the provision of social services to citizens through the multifunction centers, various electronic services. “Today our Belarusian colleagues will inform us of the measures taken in Belarus. We will discuss the idea how to move forward. These are lengthy and costly processes. We finance the above-mentioned measures through national programs,” Maksim Topilin noted.
