The Federal IT Industry Agreement 2018-2020

The new rules have been introduced by the Russian Ministry of Labor in a new Federal Industry Agreement, a sector-specific regulatory act that establishes general terms for employee salaries, guarantees and benefits in a given industry sector. These agreements, which are negotiated between trade unions and the Ministry, are binding upon all companies in that sector. Under the Russian Labor Code, a company may opt out by providing a reasoned, written refusal to the Ministry of Labor within thirty days of the agreement's enactment.

On 21 February 2018 the Ministry of Labor announced a new Federal Industry Agreement for the merchant shipping sector* on its website, and published an offer (No. 14-4/10/В-1047) to join the agreement in the newspaper Rossiiskaya Gazeta. This means that merchant shipping companies have until 22 March inclusive to opt out. Companies that do not opt out of the agreement will automatically accede to it.

* official name: The Federal Industry Agreement for the Communication and Information Technologies Sector 2018-2020

What the new regulations say

Much of the Federal Merchant Shipping Industry Agreement 2018-2020 confirms and reiterates guarantees provided in the Russian Labor Code and in Russian Transport Ministry Decree No. 268 of 20 September 2016 "On Approval of the Regulations on the Features of the Working Time and Rest Time for Crew Members of Sea and Mixed (River-Sea) Vessels."

The Agreement also provides a number of significant additional guarantees to employees and trade union bodies in the merchant shipping sector. In particular, companies are obliged to:

  • provide employees with paid days off after working on a ship under special rules;
  • index employees' salaries;
  • allocate funds to improve working conditions and work safety in the amount of at least 0.2% of total production costs (work, services);
  • provide a number of other guarantees and compensations that are not envisaged in the Labor Code and other regulatory acts.

​Recommended actions

Companies that do not wish to join the new agreement for 2018-2020 should submit reasoned refusals as soon as possible. Records of consultations with the elected body of the primary trade union must be included with such refusals. If a company opts out of the agreement, the Ministry of Labor can require a company and the relevant union representatives to attend further obligatory consultations.