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
“Creating sound jobs is essential to meet the demands of our human resources. An extensive middle class is a key for victory over poverty. This is an opportunity for millions of people to fulfil their dreams and it is a way to a true diversification of the national economy.”
“The natural solution to the problem of low productivity is creating brand new jobs. <…> Our strategic goal is to launch the mechanism of constant renewal of jobs and the economy on the whole. Jobs are created through direct investment, primarily private investment. We need to bring the investment level up to at least 25 per cent of the GDP by 2015, and later by up to 30 per cent.”
“Millions of people are now employed in outdated, ineffective workplaces with low wages and zero prospects. We must provide them with other jobs, interesting and well-paid, which can give them high living standards, good pay and the opportunity to support a large family. The average real wages in Russia need to grow by at least 37-41% by 2020.”
“The priority goals for the coming years are to reduce poverty and expand the middle class. Of key significance are a new quality of employment and a fair evaluation of one’s contribution as social mobility mechanisms. We must plan a trajectory of personal success in which everyone will have an opportunity not only to work in one’s profession but also to make a good career by improving one’s qualifications.”
“Modern jobs, fair salaries and decent labour mean a new quality of life and the well-being of Russian families and our global competitiveness.”
“The skilled jobs market is in need of serious change. We have to provide social mobility within workers' professions. Russia needs to reestablish its labour aristocracy. By 2020, this aristocracy should make up at least one third of skilled workers – about ten million people (25 million including their families).”
“In the final analysis, salaries should be paid not for belonging to a certain institution, but for making a real contribution to science, education, healthcare or culture, and for providing specific services to society. The heads of colleges, universities, medical and research establishments should be obliged to report their incomes on the same lines as those introduced earlier for state corporations.”
“Public sector pay should be linked to the specific conditions of regional jobs markets. <…>A mechanical rise in pay for one and all does not work. It is necessary to take more account of the qualifications and professional ratings of employees for their salaries. This means that basic pay should be combined with a more rapid increase in incentive bonuses and supplemental payments.”
“Our national legislation provides for the protection of the working people in the event of their employers' bankruptcy. The same applies to delayed salary payments. These debts must be paid off to the working people first and foremost. Our international commitments will buttress our domestic legislation's guarantees. In the past few years, we have signed a whole package of ILO legal documents. This will benefit our labour legislation, consolidate the rights and guarantees of the working people and give labour unions more opportunities to enforce these guarantees and uphold employee rights.”
“The level of general unemployment has decreased as compared with the beginning of the year. It was at 7.8% early this year, and now it is a bit over 6% (6.3%). The number of people who are officially registered as unemployed has decreased by 400,000.”
“The improvement of working conditions is a policy we are pursuing for our people’s sake. It’s aimed at raising the safety level, minimising industrial risks, and creating quality jobs, so feedback from trade unions and the business community is of special importance. The government’s job will be to introduce such a system of assessing and managing professional risks that measures up to the highest international standards, those of the International Labour Organisation and of major European nations. And, of course, it’s essential to ensure the efficient, targeted use of funds allocated for labour protection.”
“The efficient occupational safety and health system must be based on modern information technologies that can also be used for statistical monitoring and to report on the situation in general, to analyse the data by industry and to provide a basic forecast. Such mechanisms must be introduced widely as soon as possible. As far as the scientific standards of occupational safety are concerned, we must use the most advanced regulations and standards of the International Labour Organisation as a benchmark. Such regulations must be our basic criteria for creating quality and safe jobs.”
“We will modernise available industrial clusters and create new ones. At the same time, the creation of complete-cycle enterprises, the siting of high-tech enterprises in Russia, and the creation of modern jobs will become a key principle of our cooperation with foreign investors. We proceed from the premise that up to 25 million modern jobs must be created nationwide in the next few years. This is a substantial amount for Russia. Although this doesn’t mean that all jobs must be absolutely new, all available jobs must be upgraded to a considerable degree.”
“We will dramatically upgrade or create at least 25 million modern jobs in industry and the public sector. In effect, we will modernise every third job – this is our priority national goal for the next 20 years.”
“We should change the quality of jobs rather than merely reduce the unemployment rate to zero. We need different jobs, more skilled and high-paid jobs with better working conditions. We managed to partly do this even during the crisis, though this is not noticeable yet.”
“Our actions are in accord with the ILO’s Decent Work agenda. We share its main premises and concerns, and, indeed, we are ready to promote them globally, which brings me to a concrete proposal: to hold a high-level international conference in Russia next autumn devoted to the implementation of the principles laid out under the Decent Work concept.”
“In the 21st century, human labour can no longer be viewed as merely a cog in the chain of mechanical production or a depersonalised tool for achieving economic targets. We need to rethink the fundamental role and value of labour. I would go so far as to say that contemporary societies and economies would not be able to develop sustainably if human capital were not given precedence and if conditions were not created for each individual to fully realise their economic potential.”
“We should not just provide jobs but improve workers' professional skills and create conditions for people to acquire new, more needed, more prestigious, and better-paid jobs. Labour mobility must be encouraged.”
“It is important that the interested companies take an active part in various arrangements for professional training. They could sign contracts with educational institutions, offer internships, and offer decent wages to their trainees to encourage talented young people to join them.”
“We need to increase the number of knowledge-intensive and well-paid jobs that will require highly educated employees and consistent professional training. Naturally, we also need to foster greater labour efficiency both in public and private sectors. This is one of the most crucial goals for the future.”
