Tver hosts forum on role of business in social sphere
On October 11-12 Tver hosted a seminar entitled Development of Social Partnership in Russian Regions. The role of business in social reforms was the focal theme on the agenda. The International Labour Organization and the Coordinating Council of Employers’ Unions of Russia were the seminar’s organizers.
The seminar brought together Tver region governor Dmitry Zelenin, Chairman of the Tver Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Sergie Potapov, Tver region chief federal inspector Yuri Tseberganov, Chairman of the Coordinating Council of Employers’ Unions of Russia Oleg Eremeyev, Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Russia Mikhail Shmakov, the director of the Russian Social Development and Health Ministry’s labour department, Alexander Safonov, the head of the Russian Economic Development and Trade Ministry’s department on economic and social reforms’ strategy, Said Batkibekov and representatives of employers’ and trade unions’ associations and the authorities from 20 Russian regions.
“We highly appreciate it that the Coordinating Council of Employers’ Union of Russia chose Tver as the venue of this very important seminar,” Governor Dmitry Zelenin said in his opening remarks at a news conference on the eve of the seminar. “Social partnership is a topical issue both for Russia in general and for our region in particular. It implies an effective dialogue between employers, workers and authorities, which will help tackle all the issues that are high on the agenda, such as labour resources, economic growth, remuneration of labour, the fight with unemployment and migration processes.” “In 28 Russian regions it is representatives of regional administrations that sign tripartite agreements regulating socio-labour relations on behalf of the employers, which shows that both social partnership and regional employers’ associations are still in the embryonic stage,” Oleg Yeremeyev said. “Fortunately, this is not the case in our region,” Zelenin said. “We have set up a tripartite commission on the regulation of socio-labour relations between the administration, employers’ associations and trade unions, and this solution has proved successful.”
“The government will be unable to cope with such issues as the pension reform, social insurance, labour migration and education reform on their own,” Eremeyev said. “We already boast operational mechanisms of social partnership. This is a product of joint efforts by the government, employers and trade unions to draft a coordinated version of the Labour Code. Practice shows that social partnership can be effective only if all participants bear equal responsibility. Therefore, the General Agreement between the employers’ associations, trade unions and the government was supplemented with a special protocol in 2005. It specifies obligations each of the parties takes on,” he said.
Participants in the seminar also discussed international experience in building effective social policies and effective socio-labour relations. For this purpose ILO expert Christian Hess (ILO Headquarters in Geneva) and director-general of Employers’ Association of Cologne (Germany) Wolfgang Ress were invited.
By information of the Tver region administration’s press-centre
“We highly appreciate it that the Coordinating Council of Employers’ Union of Russia chose Tver as the venue of this very important seminar,” Governor Dmitry Zelenin said in his opening remarks at a news conference on the eve of the seminar. “Social partnership is a topical issue both for Russia in general and for our region in particular. It implies an effective dialogue between employers, workers and authorities, which will help tackle all the issues that are high on the agenda, such as labour resources, economic growth, remuneration of labour, the fight with unemployment and migration processes.” “In 28 Russian regions it is representatives of regional administrations that sign tripartite agreements regulating socio-labour relations on behalf of the employers, which shows that both social partnership and regional employers’ associations are still in the embryonic stage,” Oleg Yeremeyev said. “Fortunately, this is not the case in our region,” Zelenin said. “We have set up a tripartite commission on the regulation of socio-labour relations between the administration, employers’ associations and trade unions, and this solution has proved successful.”
“The government will be unable to cope with such issues as the pension reform, social insurance, labour migration and education reform on their own,” Eremeyev said. “We already boast operational mechanisms of social partnership. This is a product of joint efforts by the government, employers and trade unions to draft a coordinated version of the Labour Code. Practice shows that social partnership can be effective only if all participants bear equal responsibility. Therefore, the General Agreement between the employers’ associations, trade unions and the government was supplemented with a special protocol in 2005. It specifies obligations each of the parties takes on,” he said.
Participants in the seminar also discussed international experience in building effective social policies and effective socio-labour relations. For this purpose ILO expert Christian Hess (ILO Headquarters in Geneva) and director-general of Employers’ Association of Cologne (Germany) Wolfgang Ress were invited.
By information of the Tver region administration’s press-centre