During the meeting held in Moscow on July 18, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets noted that this was the first such meeting during Russia’s G20 Presidency. The meeting was attended by 23 labour ministers and three deputy labour ministers.
According to Olga Golodets, the world understands that financial and economic development is impossible without proper treatment of the workforce. “The labour market, high-quality labour, wages, professional standards, formal and informal employment are crucial for the global economy,” she said.
The Deputy Prime Minister noted that in Russia 48 million people of working age are employed in the formal sector of the economy, but that doesn’t mean that the remaining 38 million are working in the informal sector. “Those who are not employed in the formal sector include women who are caring for children, servicemen, and others,” she added. According to estimates of the Federal Service for State Statistics, the shadow economy employs 20 million people. "This is a serious problem, because it is first and foremost a violation of workers’ rights,” Olga Golodets said.
However, she said that the Government sees progress toward resolving the problem. “There are many mechanisms that encourage employers and employees to formalise their arrangement properly,” Olga Golodets said. For example, under the new formula, contributions to the pension fund will reflect official salary and length of service.
Olga Golodets pointed out another problem of the labour market. “As we analyse income, we often see excessive remuneration in certain sectors of the economy and artificially low wages in others,” she said. She believes that equal pay for equal work is a global concern and mentioned a number of initiatives to address it. In particular, she mentioned the passage of a law that “limits executive pay in the public sector,” adding that this limitation is eight-fold. “Work should be the basis of human well-being,” she said. “We shouldn’t have to talk about employed people being poor.”
Answering reporters’ questions following the meeting, Olga Golodets discussed the response to the meningitis outbreak among children in Russia. All services have been put on high alert, particularly medical personnel. She believes the situation is under control.
