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FNPR Newsletter. December 10, 2024

10.12.2024

10 December, 2024

Dear colleagues,

This is our next newsletter representing the trade union vision of the social, economic, and political life in the Russian Federation; the important trade union-related events and the activities of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR) are highlighted here.

The 13th extraordinary congress of the FNPR, which adopted the decision to change the structure of the Federation’s administration, was held in Moscow on October 29, 2024. The new version of the Constitution provides for election of two leaders by the Congress – the Chairman, who is the chief executive officer, and the President, who also retains important functions. Being a member of the highest FNPR administrative bodies, the President is mandated to participate in negotiations and consultations with the government and the employers as well as to represent the Federation in its international affairs. The 13th Congress elected Mikhail Shmakov the President of the FNPR. The newly elected FNPR Chairman is Sergey Chernogaev, the former head of one of its largest affiliates – the Railwaymen and Transport Construction Workers' Union of Russia.

The changes within the FNPR are unfolding under the relatively favourable socio-economic conditions. Despite the increasing sanctions pressure from unfriendly states, the national economy remains stable and shows positive dynamics. In October, the GDP growth was 3.2% over the same period of the previous year, the industrial production having grown by 4.8%. Inflation remains under control, reaching 8.54% in October over the same period of the previous year (8.63% in September). Unemployment in October remained at a historic low of 2.3%.

From the workers' perspective, low unemployment contributes to positive developments in the labour market – that is, real wage growth. In the first nine months of 2024, from January to September, real wages grew by an average of 9%. In this context, it should be mentioned that the systematic increase in real wages is considered a priority not only by the trade unions, but also by the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. Addressing the 13th FNPR Congress, he stated that «... Russian economy should become the economy of high wages, that being the key to improving production efficiency, modernizing enterprises and companies, deep innovation of industries on modern technological base, and to creating quality jobs».

While welcoming the consensus between the country's leadership and the unions on this issue, the FNPR states that the positive trend should not be overestimated. With the extensive knowledge of the situation on the ground, unions are aware that, in many cases, real wages are growing because some employers, especially at industrial enterprises, have recently been requiring their employees to work overtime, which, under the national legislation, is paid at a higher rate. The FNPR warns that without systemic decisions and actions by the authorities and employers, the trend of real wage growth may be unsustainable, in which case the transition to a «high-wage economy» will not take place.

The internal political situation in Russia remains stable. According to the All-Russian sociological survey conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation on December 1, 2024, President Putin is trusted and positively evaluated in his activities by 82% of respondents.

As for the special military operation conducted by the Russian armed forces, the Russian troops continue to advance in Donbas and to clear Kursk region from the Ukrainian invaders. In an attempt to prevent the final liberation of those territories, the armed forces of the Kiev regime attacked Kursk and Bryansk regions of Russia with the U.S.-made ATACMS and British-made Storm Shadow missiles. According to the leadership of Russia, this means that the conflict is becoming increasingly global in nature, since it is technically impossible to launch such missiles without operators from the countries where they were manufactured.

On November 21, in response to the use of the U.S. and British missiles, the Russian military used the latest Russian missile system called "Oreshnik" – a hypersonic medium-range high-precision ballistic missile (without a nuclear warhead). It was targeted at the Ukrainian "Yuzhmash", an aerospace plant; the target was successfully battered.

On November 21, President Putin made a special statement on the current situation. He noted that the existing missile defence systems, including those deployed by the United States in Europe, are not able to intercept such missiles, and warned that Russian troops would respond adequately to aggressive actions by the NATO countries, calling once again for a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

We have to admit that the logic of the military conflict’s escalation is bringing the world ever closer to a dangerous point. We do not undertake to predict how far the outgoing U.S. administration will go to aggravate the situation, but it is clear that all peoples of Europe, and, perhaps, of the other parts of the world as well, may end up losers in this game as the regional conflict escalates more and more.

It should be noted that certain statements from different sides hinting at the conflict’s peaceful resolution are attentively considered both by the Russian government and Russian society. Making peace ASAP would, beyond any doubt, be beneficial to everybody except the arsonists of war. Unfortunately, the current proposals, like the previous ones, do not take into account the interests of the Russian Federation and the conditions that were repeatedly voiced by the President of Russia. In our country, there is a consensus on the key conditions for ending the conflict. They must ensure sustainable and long-term peace, denazification of the Ukrainian society and the elimination of the military threat from the remaining territory of Ukraine to our country and its allies.

The FNPR, for its part, continues to implement its programs aimed at providing humanitarian assistance to the civilians in the hostilities-torn territories. The protective equipment of total weight of 4500 kilograms, purchased with the voluntary transfer of one day's earnings by trade union members, has already been sent to the hostilities-torn regions.

The other FNPR initiative consists in providing free books for the public libraries of the hostilities-torn regions. On November 6, 23 thousand books were delivered to Melitopol; on November 12, 25 thousand books were delivered to Donetsk. Previously, similar deliveries were made to Sevastopol, Simferopol and Genichesk.

We will continue to inform you about the most important events in the life of the Russian trade union movement; we are always ready to answer your questions.