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“Millions of people are now employed in outdated, ineffective workplaces with low wages and zero prospects.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.”
“In 2011 we will allocate another 105 billion roubles in social support for the jobless and for employment programmes, which will not focus on providing jobs but on upgrading worker skills and creating conditions in which people will be able to receive new, higher paid jobs that are in demand. The priority right to participation in these programmes is given to the people who objectively have problems with finding jobs.”
“Our employment policy is focused on creating modern, efficient and highly paid jobs, on stimulating new technology and through this reducing the percent of hazardous and dangerous jobs. <…>We will have at our disposal a set of administrative and economic tools for obliging employers to strictly comply with labour safety standards and to invest in the safety of their workers. We must raise the competitiveness and professional status of our workers and the prestige of the vocational trades.”
«We are creating additional incentives for promoting an active labour market policy. Such special zones for innovation make it possible to create cost-effective and well-paid jobs for people».
“The state, for its part, will help people acquire new professional skills, and will finance retraining and supplementary training programmes for staff of the companies engaged in production modernisation. Women employed in hazardous jobs, as well as new mothers on maternity leave, until their children reach the age of three years, will be able to acquire new professions for which there is high demand at state expense. Please note: we are allocating additional budget for these categories of individuals.”
“Next year, we will continue to be actively engaged in the labour market. The government has allocated nearly 28 billion roubles for employment programmes. We will also have to develop an effective policy regarding labour migration, and to boost the mobility of Russia's workforce. Other planned policies are aimed at making our social security system financially sustainable. We will also build a new mandatory medical insurance system, which should cover all Russian regions within two years.”
“Russia has been working toward the formation of a civilised labour market, which includes attracting workers from abroad. We are well aware that this is especially important for Russia. I mean our relations with CIS countries, with which we have no visa regime and practically no borders. This is a difficult social and political issue, a labour issue, an issue of international relations, and an issue of striking the balance between different areas of our national interests. We are extremely interested in labour migration being absolutely legal, so that there are no gray areas that give rise to crime and corruption.”
“Official unemployment has dropped by a million in the past year. That is a very good pace for cutting unemployment. The economy is also recovering at a fairly rapid pace, which is the most important factor for the labour market to rebound. But there is another side to this problem. We should not replicate the inefficient jobs and industries of yesterday; we need to build a modern labour market to create new, high-tech and high-paid jobs. We will move in this direction.”
“What the problem is with our educational system? The problem, unfortunately, is that there is a disconnect between how professionals are educated and what the labour market actually needs. Our goal, the government's goal is to first of all combine these two components. And here there are several ways to address this problem. One of them is early internships at companies that are interested in recruiting particular specialists. Such a practice is now becoming more widespread.”
“Long-term unemployment is probably the region's most acute social and even psychological challenge. A jobless person, especially a young one, feels abandoned and loses hope. I believe that our effectiveness in addressing the problem of unemployment will be the yardstick by which we measure the success of our joint efforts in the North Caucasus. Over the next 10 years, we must meet a critical objective: creating at least 400,000 new jobs in the North Caucasus. And we must do it together.”
At the same time, it's necessary to increase our efforts in addressing the strategic objectives of the development of the labour market. I'm referring primarily to advanced training programmes. People have shown interest in training for new professions. State employment agencies should offer more such opportunities, organising internships for young professionals and helping people with disabilities find jobs.
“We value your opinion of the effectiveness of the policies to support employment, including regional programmes to reduce the strain on the labour market. And I must say that last year we managed to defuse the situation in the labour market thanks to the implementation of these programmes and the insistent but reasonable policies of the trade unions. Once again, I would like to express my hope that we will continue to work together well into the future.”
“We took preventive action to avert critical unemployment growth, to enable people to keep their jobs, to learn new professions or to open their own businesses. We also tried to help enterprises retain their most skilled personnel. Employment-facilitation programmes covered 2.8 million people. In February 2009, unemployment hit an all-time high of 7.1 million during the crisis, declining to 6.4 million in March 2010. Although this is still a lot, the overall trend seems positive. This means that, regardless of seasonal fluctuation, we managed to launch processes that restored the labour market and promoted the creation of jobs.”
"We are creating a single information network that is going to contain all the data from job centres and various recruitment agencies. It will also have information about the situation in the economy and about the skills and professions that are currently in demand in the job market across the country. The network is being created at the moment. I think it's going to become available in June."
"We must thoroughly address the issue of creating effective and well-paid jobs. For this reason, special employment programmes and support of one-industry towns will be continued. Togliatti will be one of the first cities to receive support. This year, 43.7 billion roubles were allocated for special employment programmes. In 2010, the amount allocated will be slightly smaller - 36.3 billion roubles, but this sum is large enough to cope with our problems."
"We have managed to stabilise the labour market and prevent unemployment from spiralling out of control. During the recent televised question and answer session, I said that people's real disposable incomes would be much the same as in 2008, or decrease by only 0.4%. And now that we have the data for the whole year, it turns out there even was some growth. People's real disposable incomes will increase by about 0.7-1%."
"In Russia, salaries fell somewhat in the commercial sector. At the same time, the salaries of state-employed workers grew by a little over 5%, to be exact, by 3.8-5%, thanks to boosting the funds allocated for salary payments by 30% in December 2008. The effect was felt in 2009. Pensioners' revenues also surged, compared with what they received before. Salaries dropped by 10-12% in the commercial sector, but there was a slight increase in other economic sectors. Taken altogether, these factors resulted in real disposable incomes being down -0.4%, which is virtually the level of 2008".
“Additional support measures are stipulated for school graduates, people with disabilities. A job created for a disabled person entitles the employer to a subsidy of 30,000 roubles. College and university graduates will be afforded extended training periods at factories and plants with pay, enabling them to gain practical experience.”
“In 2009, we have generally managed to free up the jobs market. Our efforts had a positive impact after all, though not in every area. Regional programmes involved almost 2,200,000 people, who were facing joblessness because of the crisis or sackings. People were given real help when they most needed it. Of course, we are aware that many people are questioning the quality of these jobs, and rightly so. But, again, this was a makeshift decision, taken at the time of a sharp economic crisis. In this context, we decided to carry on with our anti-crisis measures and support the jobs market in 2010. We are allocating 36.3 billion roubles for these purposes.”
"We decided to continue employment programmes through 2010, and we will allocate 36 billion roubles from the federal budget for this purpose. The effectiveness of our efforts mainly depends on municipal authorities, their ability to handle the situation on-site, and their understanding of the actual state of affairs. Obviously, it will be necessary to revise the priorities for our programmes supporting the labour market, which must be done while taking into account long-term plans to modernise and diversify the economy."
"Next year's priorities must include increasing employees' professional skills, thus ensuring effective employment and creating new, highly-paid jobs. We need to pay more attention to retraining and advanced training programmes. We must also more actively support self-employment and new businesses. In addition, employment programmes must be supplemented by measures targeted to support the most vulnerable social groups, including large families, people with disabilities, seniors - everyone who has difficulty finding a new job, or is unable to find one at all."
"On the whole, the situation on the labour market remains stable. Positive trends in industry and other spheres, and resumed production growth, even if minor, have had a positive effect on employment. In the last four months, the number of unemployed registered at the employment centres has decreased by almost 200,000 people."
"In addition to this, the amount for professional retraining of the unemployed will be increased from 5,000 roubles to 11,000 roubles. The term of retraining is increased accordingly. As we agreed, this revision was conducted in close cooperation with the heads of the regions, and they requested an increase in the term. For some trades, five months are not long enough. Our colleagues believe that this term should be increased to at least six months. This means that the funding should be raised accordingly."
"We have decided to increase financial support for citizens who have temporarily lost their jobs and who want to start their own business. This support will be almost doubled – from 30,000 roubles to 59,000 roubles. This is the annual sum of the biggest unemployment benefit."
"This is the first positive trend in the labour market. The number of people registered as unemployed is falling. We hope that is due to our work, at least partly. At the same time, the situation is still difficult. So it's too early rest on our laurels. Any measures we are planning in this area need to be analysed in every aspect, down to the smallest detail, and implemented persistently."
"Material aid will be given to 52,000 businessmen, who, apart from employing themselves, will create 150,000 new jobs under their contractual commitments. I'm talking about small businesses."
"I'd like to dwell in more detail on regional employment programmes. As of today, all of the 82 regional programmes have been agreed on and endorsed. These programmes will be funded from the federal budget by 93%. All in all, 43.7 billion roubles have been reserved for this purpose, and will be transferred to the regions as subsidies. A total of 9.2 billion roubles have already been wired to 75 regions. More than a million temporary jobs will be created as a result of this measure; about 220,000 people will be retrained, and 50,000 people will undergo practical training. About 16,000 people, who will relocate from their place of residence to acquire jobs in other regions, will receive targeted financial help."
"All in all, 76.9 billion roubles from the federal budget will be spent on combating unemployment; almost 43 billion roubles have already been transferred to regions."
"Our main task is to prevent massive growth of unemployment in industrially advanced regions and local economy mainstays. We must preserve qualified personnel, and give people an opportunity to train for a new profession or find a temporary source of income."
"An analysis of the dynamics of the unemployment growth shows that the situation is improving, albeit very slowly. In January and February, the weekly growth stood at nine percent. In March andApril, the growth went down considerably and stabilised at 1.6% per week. However, for the time being, this is still a growth. True, in some regions, unemployment has even declined in some regions - Belgorod, Kaluga, Voronezh, and Transbaikal."
"The resettlement of people from dilapidated housing and more active efforts to overhaul other buildings implies the creation of over one million jobs in construction and related industries. This is a major anti-crisis measure in the current conditions aimed at combating unemployment."
