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- Free phase: in the Ministry of Economic Development called to remove restrictions on the labor market
Free phase: in the Ministry of Economic Development called to remove restrictions on the labor market
Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov announced the need to remove a number of restrictions on the labor market, including overtime work, as well as for pensioners, women and young people. The expert community said that the changes are necessary, in particular, due to the shortage of personnel, population decline and aging labor resources. How the innovations will affect the labor market and wages - in the material "Izvestia".
Demographic hole
At the congress of regional economy ministers Maxim Reshetnikov called for the removal of legislative restrictions, including for overtime work.
"You know, we now have 120 hours [per year of overtime work]. At the same time, people want to work more, enterprises are ready to pay more," the minister said.
At the same time, he noted the need to agree on specific conditions with labor unions.
"The government is now preparing proposals to go with them to the platform of the Duma and there final discussion to finalize and solve these issues. We are also looking closely with the Ministry of Labor to remove unnecessary restrictions for women, for young people, for the older generation and for those who want to work. Therefore, in general, the involvement of both the youth and the older generation is a resource for the labor market, especially given the decisions made on the indication of pensions for working pensioners. This is a great resource for our economy," the head of the ministry said.
According to Ekaterina Kashtanova, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Human Resources Management of the State University of Management, the shortage of personnel in the labor market is increasing.
- Moreover, if one of the main factors that had a significant impact on the current crisis was the consequences of the demographic crisis of the 1990s, the "pit" will be repeated in 20-25 years with an even lower threshold. Plus the reduction of Russia's population by 244 thousand people in the last two years and the aging of labor resources. These reasons make it necessary to remove existing restrictions on the labor market," the expert told Izvestia.
Kashtanova reminded that the legislation strictly regulates the number of permissible overtime hours. According to the Labor Code, the duration of overtime work should not exceed four hours for two consecutive days and 120 hours per year.
- This restriction is aimed at preventing excessive physical and psychological strain on employees, as well as ensuring their health and safety. Overtime work must be compensated at an increased rate. By law, an employee is entitled to be paid at least one and a half times the rate for the first two hours of overtime work and double the rate for subsequent hours. This measure serves as an incentive to perform additional duties and its purpose is to fairly compensate for the extra effort," Ekaterina Kashtanova reminded.
Finally, there are also a number of categories of workers for whom overtime work is either prohibited or restricted. For example, for pregnant women, minors and some other categories of workers there are special work regimes that take into account their physiological and social characteristics.
- Thus, as we can see, strict restrictions are set for overtime work, aimed at protecting workers from overtime and ensuring fair payment. However, in modern conditions there is a need to simplify the procedures for agreeing and accounting for overtime work, to introduce more transparent and fair compensation systems. Which will allow workers to voluntarily make decisions about additional workload based on their personal circumstances and needs. This may include the introduction of online platforms to automate the process of coordination and reporting," she said.
In addition, she said, attention should be paid to incentivizing employers to use overtime through the provision of tax credits or other economic incentives. Such measures will help minimize the burden on companies and contribute to the creation of favorable conditions for their development. However, it is also important to ensure the rights and safety of workers by offering them additional guarantees and protection mechanisms when performing overtime tasks. This may include mandatory accident insurance and improved labor compliance monitoring.
Rights-based
In general, the labor market is now highly competitive for workers, said Lyudmila Rokotianskaya, stock market expert at BKS World of Investments.
- The reason is the strong budgetary impetus associated with the SWO. However, this problem, most likely, will not require additional adjustments to the labor legislation, but will be solved by the monetary policy of the Central Bank - a long retention of the key rate at a high level puts pressure on the part of the economy that is not connected with the state order, and this may eventually lead to the release of some labor resources, - the expert told "Izvestia".
However, the removal of restrictions should take into account the protection of workers' rights, said Denis Antipov, general director of the SEZ Dobrograd-1.
- We expect that these changes will lead to an increase in average wages due to the possibility of legally working more hours for those who want to do so. According to our estimates, this could lead to a 15-20% increase in workers' incomes in some industries," he told Izvestia.
The removal of restrictions on working hours will allow pensioners to work on an equal footing with other categories without fear of overtime restrictions, Artem Deyev, head of the analytical department at AMarkets, told Izvestia.
- This may increase their interest in continuing their labor activity. It will also increase their competitiveness in the labor market, increasing the supply of labor force at the age of 60+. Such a decision may slow down the growth of salaries in the sectors where pensioners work due to the increase in labor supply," he believes.
Things are quite difficult now for working pensioners, Mikhail Provizion, co-founder of Consol.Pro, a platform for working with the self-employed, told Izvestia.
- At the moment, the indexation of pensions has been suspended. Since 2016, the size of the pension has not changed. Pensioners are quitting their jobs en masse to increase their pensions. But the law has already been signed, according to which from January 2025 will index the pensions of all working pensioners. Thanks to this measure, their number in the labor market will increase," he believes.
The choice is up to the candidate
Removing restrictions on hiring by such items as gender and age is certainly a good idea, but it is unlikely to produce a noticeable result, believes Svetlana Bykova, an expert of the recruiting company Get experts.
- We notice that many candidates of pre-retirement or retirement age want to work, have the necessary skills and knowledge, are full of energy, loyal to the company, but employers are not ready to consider such candidates, citing lack of energy, desire to reach new heights, flexibility and ability to change. We also encounter the fact that companies are afraid to hire young women because of potential maternity or sick leave. According to our experience, the formal removal of restrictions will not lead to an increase in the percentage of hiring such candidates," the expert told Izvestia.
According to her, the situation of a limited market helps: when all the opportunities to hire an ideal candidate are exhausted, the employer is forced to make concessions and considers those who were not originally planned.
- Nowadays, the labor market belongs to the candidate in many areas: candidates choose where and under what conditions they want to work. Employers have to either adjust to the candidates or remain without labor force. Some companies have already changed their hiring rules: they hire young people from the age of 14, offer convenient, hybrid schedules, and consider remote employees," she said.
"Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Energy, but at the time of publication no response had been received.
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