The Communist Party of the Russian Federation proposed to oblige employers to pay employees 100% of their salaries during downtime

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation proposed to oblige employees to pay 100% in case of forced downtime due to the fault of the employer. As Izvestia found out, such a bill with amendments to the Labor Code was prepared by deputies of the party's faction in the lower house.

"In accordance with the provisions of Part 1 of Article 157 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, downtime due to the fault of the employer is currently paid in the amount of at least two thirds of the average salary of an employee. This provision actually creates a situation of violation of the principle of ensuring the right of every employee to timely and full payment of fair wages, since in this case the legal norm regulates remuneration in the event of work suspension due to the fault of the employer," says the explanatory note to the draft law, which is available to Izvestia.

According to Georgy Kamnev, a deputy of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in the State Duma, the responsibility for the company's downtime lies with top management, not with ordinary employees. If the latter are not the cause of downtime, they should be guaranteed fair pay.

"100% of the average salary is fair in this case. Especially considering the current economic situation, taking into account the fall in real incomes of the population and rising prices. That is why we have developed and are introducing a bill that will protect the interests of ordinary people whose rights are violated through the fault of third parties. If the company stands up, employees should receive not 75% of the average salary, but 100%," he explained.

Price request: the State Duma wants to force businesses to index salaries by inflation

Experts are arguing whether this will turn into a new round of price pressure and shadow schemes.

Deputy General Director of "Work.<url>" Alexander Veterkov said on January 23 that in 2026, salaries are expected to increase by up to 20% in the fields of the military-industrial complex (MIC), as well as information technology and high-tech engineering design. According to him, the race to raise wages last year was unprofitable due to rising costs and slowing revenue.

Yaroslav Nilov, Chairman of the Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs, announced on January 19 that the State Duma would consider a bill in the spring session providing for mandatory annual salary indexation of Russians not lower than the inflation rate. It is specified that this is tied to February 1, since the final inflation rate for 2025 will be determined by this date.

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