1. Social Partnership in Russia – a Response to Trade Union Weakness?
Maria Bytchkova

2. Emerging TU organisations in post-Soviet period
Traditional trade unions – FNPR
Old structure and personnel
Inherited property and membership
New alternative trade unions (new or break away)
- represent single industry or occupation
- more militant

3. FNPR - falling membership
Source: Clarke, 2007, Russian Statistics Agency and FNPR data

4. TU density in EU 80%-89% in Belgium, Denmark, Finland and Sweden;
70%-79% in Italy and Norway;
40%-49% in Austria and Slovenia;
30%-39% in Hungary, Ireland and Portugal;
20%-29% in Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Slovakia and the UK;
10%-19% in Estonia, Latvia, Poland and Spain.
Source: European Industrial Observatory

5. Largest TU associations
Name
Units
Membership,000
FNPR
28,000
All-Russia Conference of labour (VKT)
Miners(NPG), “Solidarnost”, metalurgists, etc
1,271
Confederation of Russian Labour (KTR)
Air traffic controllers, pilots, dockers, seafarers
1,250
Sotsprof
Locomotive drivers, public catering, writers
450
Source: Clarke, trade union project; FNPR data

6. FNPR and its strategy Firm level organization of strikes
collective agreements
National level
lobbying legislation
mass actions of protest

7. Number of workers involved in strikes, thousand

8. Number of working days lost to strikes, thousand

9. Number of enterprises experiencing strikes

10. Firm level Number of registered collective agreements 1993 – 68 800
1999 –
2006 – (covering 52% of all workforce)
But still problems with content and enforcement

11. FNPR achievements Keeping organization and property intact
Securing wide consultation rights on federal, regional and enterprise level
Partial influence on government decisions through lobbying the legislature, social partnership and through protest action

12. On national level FNPR was able to
Influence Law on Employers’ Associations in 1999
Secure rejection of govt draft law on social insurance funds
Ensure inclusion of its proposals in several other laws
Re-establish work of RTK after June 2004 protests
Through mass protests blocked government’s draft of labour code in 200l, subsequent draft was agreed with FNPR
BUT could not bring minimum wage to minimal subsistence levels

13. What is SP on regional level?
Tripartite Commission + Agreement
TU participate on govt committees
Wage committee operating with strong govt support
Participants all say SP was important in reducing wage arrears
BUT GOVT IS THE DRIVING FORCE

14. Social partnership in Russian regions
Government
Trade Unions
Employers
Press govt to guarantee wages in return for social peace and polt support
Press employers to increase wages in return for subsidies and favourable treatment

15. Effectiveness of TU Large membership base Low popularity (14%)
Variable mobilization capacity
Variable efficiency
Yet examples show that TU can influence elections (Moscow, Ulianovsk) and social policy (Samara)

16. Sources of TU weakness Path dependency - low authority and legitimacy
- old personnel
- passive membership
Structural
- low credibility of strike threat
- de facto dependence on enterprise administration