Legal Guarantees of Collective Bargaining and Social Dialogue: A Conference in Tomsk

The audience was greeted by S. Nekrasov, FITUR First Deputy Chair; V. Sirchuk, Chief Federal Inspector in Tomsk Region; O. Kozlovskaya, Speaker of the Tomsk Regional Legislative Duma; Ch. Akatayev, Tomsk Region Deputy Governor for Social Policy, and others.

The conference featured presentations "The ILO's Future of Work Initiative" by Sergeyus Glovackas, Senior Specialist in Workers’ Activities of the ILO Decent Work Team, and "Minimum Wage as a Constitutional Guarantee" by Nikolay Gladkov, FITUR Secretary and Vice-Rector for Legal Work at the Academy of Labour and Social Relations.

Glovackas spoke about the history of the International Labour Organization, its structure and key conventions ratified by Russia and other countries. He emphasized that of the ten post-Soviet countries which are ILO members, Russia has ratified the greatest number of ILO conventions, namely 74. He reminded the audience that ILO will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2019, and it is therefore essential that we are clear on how we will move forward in the 21st century and beyond in terms of work organization and advancement of international labour standards. In this context, he elaborated on the Future of Work Centenary Initiative.

On the second day of the conference, a round table was held for members of regional trade union organizations operating in SFO to share their experience of protecting workers' rights.

Union workers and leaders from Tomsk and other parts of SFO expressed their high appreciation for the ILO-FITUR conference, commended its role in enhancing labour rights protection on the ground, and thanked the conference organizers for seamless and efficient work, useful information, and the opportunity to learn more about future prospects of the regional economy.