Decent wages, labour protection, digitalization: current tasks of trade unions discussed at the FNPR General Council
In the program report “On the Activities of the FNPR and the Tasks of Trade Unions at the Present Stage”, Federation Chairman Sergey Chernogaev assessed the current economic situation. He pointed to the slowdown in the growth of the Russian economy due to tight monetary policy. He drew attention to the growing risks for the labour market, including a reduction in the number of vacancies and an increase in wage arrears.
The main topic of the report was the FNPR Program “For a Fair Economy”, which defines strategic goals. Sergey Chernogaev identified several priority areas of work. This is a decent wage. The FNPR intends to raise the minimum wage to the level of the minimum consumer budget, which, according to the Federation’s calculations, should amount to at least 59,625 rubles in 2025. In addition, trade unions plan to protect the rights of new categories of workers, in particular, to seek the extension of basic social and labor guarantees to platform-based employees. Another priority is to strengthen labour protection control.
The FNPR intends to counteract the weakening of state supervision in the labour field, improve trade union control based on a risk‑oriented model, and seek tougher responsibility for concealing accidents. Another area is the development of social partnership. The Federation plans to legislatively consolidate the mechanisms for implementing the constitutional guarantee of social partnership and strengthen the role of sectoral agreements.
In 2026, the FNPR will have to actively participate in collective negotiations to conclude a new general agreement and seek to include trade union initiatives in its text, Sergey Chernogaev said.
In addition, the FNPR General Council discussed the need for digital transformation of trade unions and the creation of an IT-platform for the provision of personal services. It was decided at the meeting to form a permanent commission of the FNPR General Council for the support of participants and veterans of a special military operation, as well as their family members. The Commission will be headed by Sergey Nekrasov, FNPR Deputy Chairman.
At the suggestion of Sergey Chernogaev, Anton Doroshev was elected the new Deputy Chairman of the Federation. He will be responsible for digitalizing the work of trade unions.
GCTU News
-
GCTU Discusses Amendments to Confederation’s Charter
On September 15, Moscow hosted a meeting of the Working Group on Preparing Amendments and Additions to the Charter of the General Confederation of Trade Unions (GCTU) at the Trade Unions Palace of Labor. Participants reviewed proposals from member organizations regarding necessary changes to the Confederation’s founding document.
-
Wage Standards in the CIS Must Reach a New Level
On September 10, the General Confederation of Trade Unions (GCTU) launched the development of a unified methodology for calculating the minimum consumer budget. The first meeting of the GCTU Executive Committee’s temporary working group on this initiative took place in Moscow.
-
A Unified Registry of Collective Agreements Should Be Established in the CIS
A unified registry of collective agreements in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) will enable the regulation of labor relations at a cross-border level, according to the General Confederation of Trade Unions. The proposal by GCTU to include the creation of such a registry in the draft Plan of Activities for the Year of Social Development and Quality of Life in the CIS was approved by participants of the working group of the Advisory Council on Labor, Employment, and Social Protection of the Population of the CIS Member States. The working group meeting took place today at the CIS Executive Committee in Minsk, using video conferencing.
