VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Mr Shmakov, I think we should begin with the labour market, which, I think, matters most to trade unions.
Mikhail Shmakov: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: We begin with this subject whenever we meet. As you know, we have created – restored, to be precise – more than a million jobs this year. Unemployment used to be 6.2%, if I am not mistaken. Now it is 5.1%. Am I right?
Mikhail Shmakov: This is overall employment. In terms of registered unemployment, it is getting back to the pre-crisis level. More than that, registered unemployment decreased from September to October. We have approximately 1.5 million unemployed, compared to 1.3 million before the crisis, so we are approaching the pre-crisis level.
What matters most is that new jobs are more efficient, generally speaking, than pre-crisis jobs. This is good. But then, we have always tried to achieve full employment.
Mr Putin, the age of the unemployed is what is especially alarming. People below 35 account for 27% of the unemployed. People in the 15-19 age bracket, those who do not work or study is 6%. So the 19-30 bracket accounts for 21%.
The problem of initial employment after vocational school or university remains unresolved. Vocational training does not provide a sufficient guarantee of employment. And lately some businesspeople are saying that vocational training should be limited. We find that this opinion runs counter to global trends and our goals – first, the development of human resources, because this is one of the leading factors of a contemporary foresighted economy and, second, our need for jobs and the prevention of brain drain. We need those who are qualified engineers, technicians and other workers to be here in Russia, not job-hunting abroad. So we have our problems, but generally we also see positive trends. We have discussed the problem from this point already. The labour market stabilisation programme launched in 2009 continues this year, and it would be wise to extend it into next year. It needs maximum support so as not to share the fate of programmes underfunded at the end of the year or, conversely, of programmes on which available funds are not used up.
Vladimir Putin: There is another factor – thrift. This means that unused funds do not lie idle but have been saved and we should see how to spend them for other purposes.
You have mentioned human resources. Health is a critical factor here. I know that the trade unions are taking part in drawing up regional programmes to modernise healthcare.
Mikhail Shmakov: Yes. First, we are active in regional programmes and have offered all the direction we could. There are some discrepancies, and we think they should be brought to light early on for all regional programmes to be mutually complementary. When they are brought together at the federal level, the trade union representatives should review them well beforehand and make suggestions, if they have any. We think we should go farther. When the programmes are endorsed and they are started, we will continue trade union monitoring – mainly through the Healthcare Union. We would like to take part in implementing the programme, possibly as partners with federal and regional agencies. Upgraded clinic equipment is good, but we should not forget that when doctors update their qualifications, they should earn more. Programmes should stipulate increased remuneration along with the material and technical improvements.
Vladimir Putin: Mr Shmakov, the programme envisages it. There is, however, another important area where trade unions can do much. We have said from the beginning that federal funds will go only to the regions that are active in pursuing modernisation programmes, showing that they see what facilities deserve support. But we should certainly improve the entire network, and it would be hard to tackle these matters without trade union contribution.
Mikhail Shmakov: Certainly. We are ready to take part. We are already participating and will participate in the future.
