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#7
Moscow Times
December 18, 2001
New Labor Learns to Lobby
By Boris Kagarlitsky

The second State Duma reading of a bill rarely causes any sensations. While in its first reading a bill is approved in principal and in the third reading the final text is adopted, the second reading is usually devoted to amendments of a largely technical character. After a parliamentary majority approves a bill in its initial version, it rarely permits any amendments that could alter it cardinally in subsequent readings.

Thus, few expected the second reading of the Labor Code, scheduled for this week, to be a major event; nor were mass protests expected. In the depths of winter, street demonstrations do not hold much appeal; people are already getting ready for the New Year's public holidays and, moreover, the economic situation in the country is not sufficiently bad to provoke major gatherings.

However, protest measures undertaken by the union of air-traffic controllers ahead of the Duma vote have turned into an important and high-profile event.

The union probably does not intend to push things to the limit, but everyone understands full well that this could potentially lead to the paralysis of most of the country's airports.

The labor movement in Russia has progressed considerably in recent years. Workers have become aware of the importance of legislation, and some trade unions have learned not only how to get people out for rallies and demonstrations but also how to act in an effective and timely fashion.

While the air-traffic controllers were on hunger strike, it unexpectedly came to light that the text of the bill could be altered significantly in the course of discussing amendments.

This summer, the government's version of the bill was not only approved by a Duma majority but also received the support of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia -- successor to the Soviet trade unions. The crux of the deal was very simple: The FNPR would give its consent to limiting the rights of hired employees, and in return the law would effectively consolidate its monopoly position.

In terms of membership, old trade unions outnumber the new unions that emerged in the 1990s. However, the more active union members are by and large in alternative unions, and it is these people who cause problems for employers and the government. These troublemakers were the main target of the deal between the FNPR and government.

It looked like the old Soviet system was returning, with official unions becoming de facto an appendage of the adminstration and alternative unions being banned, the only real difference being that the new draft labor laws provide for a much lower level of social protection -- in fact almost none.

The deal between the government and FNPR caught opponents of the bill off guard last summer. However, this fall alternative unions started a lobby campaign in the Duma, arguing that an FNPR monopoly flies in the face of basic democratic principles. They found support among SPS and Yabloko deputies and -- paradoxical as it may seem -- from the Communist Party as well.

The reason is that the FNPR does not inspire much love. Liberals see in it the continuation of the odious Soviet regime, while the Communist Party sees the FNPR leaders as traitors who turned their backs on their own party.

The government, which needed FNPR support for the first reading, is not now prepared to sacrifice its relations with the above-mentioned parliamentary factions. Furthermore, independent deputies from the regions feel growing social tension and are trying to prove that they are sympathetic to workers' needs.

Irrespective of the outcome of the vote on the Labor Code, the current conflict is proof that the social situation in the country has changed. Economic growth tends to favor development of the labor movement, and in this regard the last three years have born fruit.

Today, the FNPR is in profound crisis, and the alternative trade unions, which have learned to combine protest rallies, lobbying and political measures, are growing in effectiveness.

The government doesn't yet fully comprehend that these unions could become a very serious adversary in the near future. In the spring, a new hike in utility payments is expected. The country is experiencing the consequences of a world economic crisis that has resulted in falling oil and gas prices.

Taken together, these factors betoken the very real possibility of a politically "hot" spring and summer.

Boris Kagarlitsky is a Moscow-based sociologist.

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