They put on their shift: shift workers across Russia are facing salary delays
A criminal case has been opened in the Sverdlovsk region on the fact of non-payment of wages. This was preceded by an appeal from 200 shift workers to the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin. They stated that they had been blocked at the Volkovskoye field in Nizhny Tagil, as their employer HC Novolex LLC had not paid their salaries for more than two months and had not purchased departure tickets. Meanwhile, experts familiar with the market situation have noticed that in this case, the problem is likely to be resolved, but many shift workers across Russia have much more serious problems. For more information, see the Izvestia article.
What is the situation at the Novolex facility
Employees of the Volkovskoye field recorded a video message in which they stated that HC Novolex LLC had not paid an advance payment and wages for two months. Also, tickets for departure from the facility are not purchased, travel costs are not compensated, and daily meals are not paid to employees. The employees claim that they have contacted the company's management, including CEO Evgeny Filippov, but the appeals are ignored. 200 employees signed up for the appeal.
A criminal case has already been opened by the investigative authorities of the Investigative Committee of Russia for the Sverdlovsk region on the fact of non-payment of wages under Article 145.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and Alexander Bastrykin will be informed about the progress of the investigation.
At the same time, sources familiar with the situation told Izvestia that Novolex continues to recruit staff at other facilities. This company operates all over the country, from Kaliningrad to the Far East, and salary delays are not uncommon.
Natalia Demenko, a social activist who deals with the problems of shift workers, said that there really is a fact of non-payment of salaries by Novolex. She believes that in this case, the money will most likely be paid soon. At the same time, she confirmed problems at other Novolex facilities, which were nevertheless resolved: the salary was paid in the Kaliningrad region, and the delay at the Dixon facility was also eliminated.
The Federal Service for Labor and Employment reported that in October, Novolex employees received an appeal from the state Labor Inspectorate from a facility in the Novosibirsk Region. At that time, it was a question of debt in the amount of almost 88 million rubles to 774 employees. It was completely extinguished. However, an inspection conducted by the State Labor Inspectorate in November 2025 showed the presence of debts in the amount of 246 million rubles for September–October 2025 to 1,779 employees.
— HC Novolex LLC submitted information to the State Labor Inspectorate of the region confirming the payment of wage arrears to employees totaling more than 100 million rubles. HC Novolex LLC has set a deadline of December 26 for the complete elimination of violations, — Rostrud told Izvestia.
At the Volkovskoye field in the Sverdlovsk region, the salary delay in front of 200 employees was also confirmed: 69.5 million rubles in October and 15.7 million rubles in the first half of November. However, according to Rostrud, the representative of the employer claims that the debts have been repaid to date. The situation remains under the control of the department until the official confirmation of information on debt repayment.
Izvestia sent a request to Novolex.
Shift workers all over Russia have problems
However, the main problems in the market are not with this company, experts emphasize. Right now, there are big problems with the facility of SKK LLC (Construction and Service Company), employees of one of its facilities in Tarko-Sale (Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District) told Izvestia.
— The delay in wages has been since September, and for other company facilities — since July. They say that there is no money, but they don't promise anything concrete," the wife of one of the employees, who is currently on shift, told us. — There are no conditions, poor food, no days off either, but at the same time people are sitting without money.
According to her, the employees have already contacted the prosecutor's Office and the Investigative Committee.
This year, the media got stories of shift workers in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Chukotka, Primorye and other regions. So, in June, 300 shift workers at the Tanalau field in the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory complained about salary delays. They couldn't leave the north for home either.
In October, the Telegram channel "Vakhta LIFE" published a story of workers at the Primorskaya GRES, who were promised 4.5-8.5 thousand rubles per shift with free accommodation and meals. However, instead of the promised money, the contractor managed to receive only 30 thousand rubles as an advance. As a result, many people had to take out loans just to get home.
— The situation in the shift sector is very difficult, — Natalia Demenko said. — At least there are trains and buses to Nizhny Tagil. But in Bilibino, where there were problems in the spring, people stayed for a month in a place from which it was impossible to get out on their own.
According to her, companies that have not paid salaries often simply change legal entities and recruit new people to the facility, leaving former employees without payments.
They don't pay salaries for a long time, continues Natalia Demenko, the company "SMT" in Yekaterinburg, "Garantstroy" in Tolyatti — people have been trying to get their money there for two years. There are very few hopes for payments from various companies from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Kaluga, Grozny, Nizhny Novgorod, Magadan... In total, she alone has complaints about salary delays from employees of 34 companies, and these are far from all problematic objects. In each case, we are talking about at least 10 employees, but more often — about a much larger number.
A source on the market says that there are other, successful stories: excellent shift camps, which are organized directly by the customer. But the problem is that contractors and subcontractors are involved in a lot of facilities. And it's often very difficult to figure out whose facility an employee actually gets a job at.
— You complain to the customer, and he replies that he transfers money to all facilities in Russia on time. It's just that somewhere at the level of another subcontractor, money is lost," confirms Natalia Demenko.
CEO of the Job search and Employee Recruitment service GdeRabota.ru Ekaterina Agayeva notes that in the last months of 2025, Russians were 60% more likely to complain about salary delays than a year earlier. According to Rosstat, at the end of October 2025, overdue salary arrears amounted to 2.156 billion rubles. A year earlier, this amount was 729 million rubles.
— 46% of the debtors are companies from the field of mining and manufacturing. That's where shift workers work most often," Ekaterina Agayeva told Izvestia.
How shift workers are deceived
Andrey Tokranov, head of the contract recruitment department at the Fersol service and recruiting company, calls business trips rather than shifts among the "tricks" that contractors resort to in relation to employees (in this case, the employer relieves himself of some obligations), the payment of vacation pay according to a fixed scheme, the promise of one salary level while actually paying another.
— Often there is a minimum rate in the contract, and that's what they pay later, and bonuses may not be paid at all, — he said.
A market source says that very often employees are not allowed to read the employment contract before they arrive at the place. People drive at random, and they are forced to enter into a civil law contract (GPH), which removes many obligations from the employer.
Rostrud confirms that the labor rights of shift workers are prescribed in Chapter 47 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. And the conclusion of a civil law contract with employees who perform functions at the enterprise on an ongoing basis is a substitution of labor relations and a violation of the rights of employees.
— But only a few people go to the courts in such cases, while they get settled again according to the same scheme — there is a very low level of awareness among employees in the market, — says the source of Izvestia.
How to achieve payments
— If the employee's labor rights are violated, he has the right to file a complaint against the employer. To file a complaint, you can use the "Report a problem" service on the Online Inspection portal.in the Russian Federation, or contact the state labor Inspectorate in your region. In addition to applying to the GIT, an employee has the right to apply to the prosecutor's office and the court for protection of their rights," Rostrud said.
Ekaterina Agayeva explains that it is important to record the non-payment of wages by collecting any evidence.: correspondence with management, payslips, signatures of colleagues who find themselves in such a situation. After that, you should contact Rostrud, the department of the State Labor Inspectorate, the prosecutor's office or the Investigative Committee.
"There is no universal answer to the question of whether to go home or seek payment on the spot," she said. — It all depends on the situation. But it is definitely not recommended to leave the shift if the employer withholds your personal documents, if your personal presence is required during the check, and if there is a mass protest by the team. In addition, the employer may claim that you voluntarily left your place of work.
Andrey Tokranov, on the contrary, believes that if "all possible classrooms" have already been completed on site, then there is no point in staying at the facility. It is better to go home and continue to seek payment through the labor inspectorate, company hotlines, the prosecutor's office and the court. The main thing is not to be silent.
Ekaterina Agayeva urges not to delay the filing of the complaint. There is always a risk that the employer will have time to declare bankruptcy — and then you will not be able to get the money.
Natalia Demenko emphasizes that the problem must be solved at the federal level: stop the "uncontrolled transfer of contracts", exclude recruiters and agents who deceive people into facilities. It is also important to discuss the situation with all parties: the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Labor, the Prosecutor's Office, and the Investigative Committee. There is no such dialogue yet.
She emphasizes that the problem concerns a very large number of people — shift workers work not only in the North, but also in the central regions of Russia. Ekaterina Agayeva estimates their number at about 1.7 million people, which is more than teachers in schools. At the same time, it is very difficult to track the exact number — someone works under civil law contracts, someone unofficially.
—Over the past month, companies have published 85.2 thousand job offers on a shift basis," she said. — The number of active vacancies does not indicate the actual number of people employed on the watch, but confirms the high demand for personnel.
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