Ladies and gentlemen,
Mikhail Mishustin’s video address to participants in the CyberPolygon 2020 online international cybersecurity exercise
First of all, I would like to note the relevance and timeliness of the ILO Global Summit on COVID-19 and the World of Work.
We have all been dealing with the challenges of the novel coronavirus pandemic that are affecting different aspects of public life.
The world of work has been experiencing serious negative consequences of this pandemic. Achievements of the past decades in poverty alleviation and ensuring employment are now at risk.
I am certain that the challenges of COVID-19 require a collaborative and determined response. This will allow restoring jobs, guaranteeing social security and outlining the growth vector for the labour market.
Russia puts special emphasis on fulfilling the concept of building a better future of work based on the ILO declaration adopted last year. The declaration offers guidelines for shaping an efficient strategy to overcome the consequences of the pandemic by improving labour conditions, implementing innovative technologies, formalising labour relations and stimulating the creation of new jobs.
Our efforts should centre on the individual, as it is stipulated by the approaches of the International Labour Organisation to decent work.
On the practical level, the Government of the Russian Federation is providing targeted social support to members of the public who lost their jobs due to the spread of the coronavirus. We adopted resolutions to increase unemployment benefits and expand the categories of the public that remain entitled to such benefits. Parents who qualified as unemployed will also receive child support in addition to the unemployment benefits.
Moreover, we minimised the costs related to payroll and maintaining jobs for businesses. Companies were granted deferment on taxes, social security contributions and loan payments. Concessional loans are available to small and medium-sized businesses. We drafted a national plan of action to ensure employment and income recovery, economic growth and long-term structural changes. As priority tasks, we determined the measures to support incomes. These measures concern both the people who are currently employed, the people who are temporarily out of work and families with children.
In close cooperation with our Eurasian Economic Union and CIS partners, we adopted effective measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the migrant workers currently residing in Russia.
At the G20 summit, President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin said countering unemployment during the pandemic was a key priority. Joint efforts in this vital area require that the world economy remain open, unilateral restrictive and protectionist measures be abandoned, digital technologies be widely implemented and the opportunities of labour migration be flexibly used.
I am confident that our responsibility, determination and constructive cooperation will help us to overcome the consequences of the pandemic and restore the favourable situation in the global labour market.
I wish success to all summit participants. Thank you.
