Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2018, published 108th ILC session (2019)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Russian Federation (Ratification: 1956)

The Committee notes the detailed response of the Government to the 2015 observations made by the Confederation of Labour of Russia (KTR) as well as to the KTR observations communicated with the Government’s report.

Article 3 of the Convention. Right of workers’ organizations to organize their administration and activities. The Committee recalls that it had previously requested the Government to ensure that workers of municipal services as well as civil servants who did not exercise authority in the name of the State could exercise the right to strike. The Committee notes the Government’s explanation of the system of the civil service in the Russian Federation. The Government refers, in particular, to section 3(1) of the Law on State Civil Servants, which defines State Civil Service as a type of service carried out by citizens at their respective governmental positions aimed at executing the authority of various State bodies. Therefore, the prohibition of strikes in the civil service is necessary due to its specific functions, which should be uninterrupted to guarantee the exercise of the authority of various state bodies. The Government points out that this prohibition affects civil servants irrespective of the specific level and category of their position as all civil servants contribute individually and collectively towards the public aim of the civil service, through which the authority of the State is exercised. Likewise, the legislation prohibits the exercise of the right to strike by municipal civil servants, who exercise authority in the name of municipal bodies. While taking due note of this information, the Committee recalls the KTR’s previous indication that section 9 of the Law on State Civil Service divides the duties of the civil service into four categories and that far from all civil servants covered by the Law are “officials exercising authority in the name of the State”. Recalling that the right to strike may be restricted or prohibited only for public servants exercising authority in the name of the State, the Committee invites the Government to review, in consultation with the social partners, various categories of the State and municipal civil service with a view to identifying those that may fall outside of this narrowly interpreted category.

With regard to its previous request to amend section 26(2) of the Law on Federal Rail Transport (2003) so as to ensure the right to strike of railway workers, the Committee notes that the Government reiterates the prohibition imposed by the legislation on workers in railway services engaged in the public railway sector and cargo. The Committee recalls that railway transport does not constitute an essential service in the strict sense of the term where strikes can be prohibited and that instead, a negotiated minimum service could be established in this public service of fundamental importance. The Committee once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to amend section 26(2) of the Law on Federal Rail Transport so as to bring it into line with the Convention. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken or envisaged in this respect.