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 start of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: I see you at almost every Government meeting.
Mikhail Shmakov: I attend them because they provide substantial information. Also, it is possible to discuss draft documents before a meeting, and even adjust some details.
Vladimir Putin: I'm very happy about such cooperation.
Mikhail Shmakov: Mr Putin, we have been monitoring the plants where our trade unions are represented. The main achievement is that we have established trilateral information exchange in the Russian Trilateral Commission {on the Regulation of Social and Labour Relations}. We will meet every week. The Ministry of Health and Social Development will submit its information to the commission, we will present ours, and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) will share theirs. We reveal critical points during debates and take action to resolve them. Each of us takes measures in our own domain but with the same purpose - to support the workers.
The main thing is to prevent violation of rights and legislation. For instance, major plants like VAZ, GAZ, and KamAZ, will be idle for a month, but this does not constitute a violation of the law. Employees take holidays or, if a line is stopped through to the employer's fault, two thirds of the average wages are paid. In December, VAZ workers will receive advances on their wages as usual, and they will continue receiving money on the payday.
I said "two thirds". It goes without saying that this is not as good as 100%, but this is within the law. It is worse when at some plants managers deliberately pay workers two thirds of the tariff rather than of average wages. With us, tariffs are very different from average wages.
Vladimir Putin: It is even worse when workers are laid off without dismissal wage because they cannot get registered at social security agencies and get unemployment benefits.
Mikhail Shmakov: You are absolutely right. In this case they are not recognised as unemployed and are not entitled to these benefits.
Incidentally, the Government made a very good decision when it resolved to re-insure through the Russia's Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending the mortgage loans which people cannot pay off because they have lost their source of income, a job, or their wages have been sharply reduced.
Vladimir Putin: There is another thing we have done, as you know: We have agreed that Sberbank will convert the earlier issued hard currency loans into roubles to prevent interest payments from going up.
Mikhail Shmakov: Absolutely right. This is an important and justified measure. It goes without saying that people will be able to do this, and many are already addressing with this issue.
This is what I would like to suggest. Anti-crisis headquarters or commissions have been set up to monitor the situation at plants and factories in every region. The heads of out regional trade union associations are members of these headquarters and commissions. Trade unions play the same role in the Trilateral Commission.
This is very important, but now a higher agency headed by Igor Shuvalov has been set up. What if it includes a trade union representative? When I discussed this with Mr Shuvalov, he said that at first this was not envisaged, but he is not against doing this later on. Maybe, we could speed this up.
At any rate, sometimes economic measures are indirectly linked with the social losses sustained by our working people.
A number of deputies and United Russia members emphasised the need to help people hit by the crisis. There are two options - to assist strategic corporations, enterprises, systems, etc., or to help people to prevent a drop in purchasing power.
Needless to say, we favour the second approach. We think it is important to keep the purchasing power at the same level by helping the people. This will enable the entire economic system to work. This is important because as we know, and as you have pointed out, very often banks receive assistance from the Government to refinance their debts. Nevertheless, these funds do not reach real production or the people. In this context, it is necessary to establish tougher control over the transit of these funds to the real producers.
Vladimir Putin: I consider this logic justified. I wouldn't like to discuss expensive loans now, whether they should cost so much or not, that is the policy of the Central Bank. However, on a par with these loans, a drop in demand is another component of the crisis. And this is very important. No matter how many loans we may give to the companies in the real economy, lack of demand will cause a decline, and eventually production will also grind to a halt. Therefore, it is necessary to support production and demand at the same time.
As you know, we have already made a decision on the car-makers among others, to give subsidies to the people who buy cars costing no more than 350,000 roubles. We will subsidise two thirds of the Central Bank's refinancing rate but this is only one of the measures. Needless to say, trade union presence in the anti-crisis commission will allow us to receive more information on what is going on in specific industries and companies. This is a useful and timely step. Let's make it.
Mikhail Shmakov: Good. I'll rely on your support. I've already started talking with Mr Shuvalov on this subject.
Vladimir Putin: Let's call it a deal.
