Protection for Taxi Drivers, Couriers, and Freelancers: The General Confederation of Trade Unions Supports the Adoption of the CIS Model Law "On Platform Employment"
Andrey Yepishin, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Budget and Financial Markets, emphasized that the law "On Platform Employment" is strategically important for the development of CIS economies. It provides protection for all participants in platform employment: workers, service customers, and digital platform operators. The implementation of the law will serve to improve the imbalances, employment efficiency, and create new job opportunities for citizens. Alfiya Kogogina, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, have made a speech on the Russian law "On Certain Issues of the Platform Economy," ongoing work to improve it, and the possibility of joint efforts on documents regulating the activities of digital platforms.
The General Confederation of Trade Unions supports the adoption of the model law. As noted by Deputy General Secretary of the GCTU Natalia Podshibyakina, this is a comprehensive document reflecting the main provisions for regulating platform employment, incorporating and balancing numerous comments and suggestions. At the same time, Podshibyakina drew attention to the inadvisability of broader inclusion in this draft law of provisions related to the organization of platform work as a new business model. Issues of state regulation of the platform economy should be within the scope of legislative regulation and are the subject of another law: on platforms and the platform economy.
"Many studies show that among all platform workers, there are those who are economically dependent on platforms, whose activities and incomes are largely tied to the use of digital platforms. It is these workers who are in urgent need of protection. This draft law includes measures for the social protection of workers in the context of various legal and economic statuses of performers and different types of platforms. It is especially important that the law includes an article on the inadmissibility of abusing the platform employment mechanism and concealing actual labor relations. The signs of labor relations are also provided in accordance with the recommendations of the International Labour Organization," Podshibyakina emphasized.
The Commission also presented information on the interim results of the development of the draft model law "On Cross-Border Insolvency and Bankruptcy." The developers agreed with the GCTU's proposal to reflect in the document issues of protecting workers' claims for wage payments, taking into account the conventions of the International Labour Organization.
GCTU News
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Viktor Pinsky: GCTU Should Play a Leading Role in Organizing Trade Union Education in the CIS
Viktor Pinsky, Secretary General of the General Confederation of Trade Unions (GCTU), believes that the GCTU should take a leading role in developing a system for training, retraining, and upgrading the skills of personnel, exchanging experiences, and educating leaders and trade union activists across the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
"We already have successful experience in organizing trade union education. This year over 400 people from six countries participated in the GCTU’s first two educational programs. The idea to launch such programs came directly from the requests of our member organizations. Internships are another in-demand format, especially among young people. They provide an opportunity to personally visit international organizations and see their work from the inside," said Viktor Pinsky.
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For trade unions, March 8 is not just a day of spring and renewal.
For trade unions, March 8 is not just a day of spring and renewal.
For trade unions, March 8 is not merely a day of spring and renewal. Above all, it is an opportunity to once again reflect on the role of women in the world of work and in global development as a whole. Today, women perform 55% of the world’s total labor. They work longer hours than men—by 6 to 13 hours per week—and still earn less: on average, women’s wages amount to 66–84% of men’s wages, depending on the country. There is objective evidence that the more a country values women’s labor and the smaller the gender pay gap, the more developed its economy. A special issue is the “invisibility” of women’s domestic and, as experts call it, reproductive labor. This is why trade unions should continue to fight for justice for working women.
I congratulate all women of the CIS, my colleagues in the parliamentary corps, and women in trade unions on International Women’s Day. I wish you justice, decent work, success, and prosperity!
Viktor Pinsky
General Secretary of the General Confederation of Trade Unions, Member of the State Duma
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General Confederation of Trade Unions Proposes Securing Trade Union Rights in Enterprise Bankruptcy
General Confederation of Trade Unions Proposes Securing Trade Union Rights in Enterprise Bankruptcy
The General Confederation of Trade Unions’ (GCTU) proposals are reflected in the draft CIS model law “On Cross-Border Insolvency and Bankruptcy.”
Trade unions must have the right to represent and protect workers’ interests in the bankruptcy of international companies, according to Viktor Pinsky, Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and General Secretary of the GCTU.