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: Good afternoon. What is the social and economic situation in the Perm Territory? We have spoken at several recent meetings, and now we have an opportunity to discuss the region's issues in detail. Please, whenever you're ready.
Oleg Chirkunov: The crisis that everyone feared so much has eventually arrived. But, as a Russian proverb holds, don't cry out before you are hurt.
The situation is relatively stable. To evaluate it, one needs to look at salaries and jobs.
Taxes
collected on salaries fell some 13%, which is the actual loss that
people have to bear. A drop in tax revenues points to the fact that
people are earning less money.
The number of people applying to employment agencies increased twofold, as compared with the most stable period. We expected it would be worse.
We understand that our key objective is supporting these people, since government employees and pensioners receive guaranteed salaries and pensions. We need to focus our measures on a different set people, those who were relatively well-to-do, received decent salaries, borrowed loans, bought cars and flats, but then lost their jobs.
Vladimir Putin: And got in trouble.
Oleg Chirkunov: Exactly. These people are in the at-risk group. We can start monitoring and analysing the situation to find out how people are responding to our support programmes.
The state doesn't pay much to the unemployed: about 5,000 roubles. However, an important sign is that people are not applying for help in cities. This means that there are opportunities to find jobs there.
In towns and villages, people willingly seek out public service jobs, and in cities people don't apply for them. This is testament to the fact that they have an alternative. In my view, this is a positive trend. Judging by this fact, the situation is not so dire.
Nevertheless, we're trying to create jobs. Public service jobs, such as sweeping streets and landscaping, have proven very effective in rural areas. Villages and towns are clean and tidy since people are willing to work for this sort of salary there.
We are introducing new kinds of public service jobs in cities. For example, people can work in our archives from their computers at home, which eliminates the need to employ them in offices since they can work from home. Some 1,000 people are currently involved in this programme.
This is how the situation looks like in terms of employment.
Vladimir Putin: As you know, when meeting with the heads of regions, I often hear suggestions for how to change unemployment benefits. Some of your colleagues say that they must be reduced, since high benefits can breed undesired sentiments. Others believe that they need to be raised a little bit. What is your opinion?
Oleg Chirkunov: As far as I'm concerned, unless we have a clear reason to change the sum people receive, we should not change it. It all depends on the area. In rural areas, 5,000 roubles is a sum one is eager to work for, but it won't work in cities, and this shows that there are alternative jobs there. I think we need to wait and see how the situation will develop.
The problem does not lie in the depth of the crisis, which everyone feared the most, but in its duration.
Vladimir Putin: What do you believe is the state of affairs in the labour market?
Oleg Chirkunov: As I mentioned, 40,000 people have registered with employment agencies, which is twice more than during the period of stability. That is not that much.
Vladimir Putin: Have you received support from the federal budget for the employment programme?
Oleg Chirkunov: Sure.
Vladimir Putin: How much?
Oleg Chirkunov: We received some 800 million roubles for the whole programme. It is enough; we can even save a little of it, since the federal government confirmed that if we spend these funds effectively, they will be carried on into the next year. We received the sum we applied for. In this respect, federal ministries have been true to their commitments.
Vladimir Putin: What about our programme to support different sectors of the economy? Has it had any effect on your Territory? Have you participated in the programme encouraging municipal governments to purchase vehicles?
Oleg Chirkunov: Yes. I can tell you exactly what we are now seeing. We are seeing the Defence Ministry buying apartments for its personnel. We can see that people are being relocated out of dilapidated and hazardous housing, in accordance with Federal Law 185. These two trends provide the necessary support for the construction industry. I wouldn't say that all is well now in the construction industry, but the programmes that affect it are well-designed and important.
Vladimir Putin: By the way, I would like to direct your attention to the fact that the programme involving the military will be continued into 2010, and its scope will be expanded.
We expect the required support from the governors.
Oleg Chirkunov: We are aware of that. We are already working with the Ministry of Defence. We are trying to see if there's any land owned by the Ministry that we could connect to the utilities networks, and if we have land that we could hand over for housing. Meanwhile, we are going to continue working with them within the housing acquisition programme.
Vladimir Putin: How much dilapidated housing do you have?
Oleg Chirkunov: At present, we expect to receive 2.5 billion through the programme to relocate people out of dilapidated houses. Considering how much funding we need, it's not a very big amount.
But this is only the first step. This is the first time that we have tackled this issue. Currently, we select the worst housing and relocate the occupants. People are provided with apartments.
Vladimir Putin: We are going to resume this programme next year.
Oleg Chirkunov: I know.
Vladimir Putin: We will need co-financing from you.
Oleg Chirkunov: We have already made provisions for that and determined the quota for the next year. This year, regions had the opportunity to request a quota for the next year, do the necessary planning, and begin working on it. Therefore, next year's funding is virtually in our bank accounts, and is guaranteeing our budgets.
Vladimir Putin: Good. What about public transport? We have already allocated significant federal resources for re-equipment. Have your local authorities taken advantage of this opportunity?
Oleg Chirkunov: Yes. We have just held public auctions.
Vladimir Putin: They began early this year. Why has it taken so long?
Oleg Chirkunov: We had some problems with the technology. Public transport isn't a critical problem for us now. We are working with private companies to provide municipal transportation. Long-term transportation is also being provided by private companies. Now we are working out a mechanism for attracting private entrepreneurs to this sector. There are no buses owned by the municipal government in Perm. We are using services offered on the market. I think this is the future.
Vladimir Putin: How do you provide transportation for people who receive a particular type of public support?
Oleg Chirkunov: You mean the disabled?
Vladimir Putin: Yes.
Oleg Chirkunov: The situation is far from good. We still don't have the necessary traditions of construction or adopting mass transit to such people's needs. We are currently launching special programmes for the disabled.
Of course, our construction and transportation standards are certainly changing, but right now we can't say that a disabled person can call a welfare taxi and go to any part of the city. We don't have such a system yet, and that's not something we should be proud of, but we understand the problem clearly and we have already started resolving it.
Vladimir Putin: You need to make plans and orders, and change construction standards. But everything should be done in due time. You have to start working now to have things done tomorrow.
Oleg Chirkunov: That's right.
