Federal Law No.10-FZ of the Russian Federation on Trade Unions and Their Rights and Guarantees for Their Activities (1996, as amended 2005) (English)

FEDERAL LAW

NO. 10-FZ OF JANUARY 12, 1996

ON THE TRADE UNIONS, THEIR RIGHTS

AND GUARANTEES FOR THEIR ACTIVITY

(with the Amendments and Additions of March 21, October 25, July 25,

2002, June 30, December 8, 2003, June 29, 2004, May 9, 2005)

Adopted by the State Duma on December 8, 1995

Chapter I. General Provisions

Article 1. The Object of Regulation and the Goals of the Present Federal Law

The object of regulation of the present Federal Law shall be the public relations, arising in connection with the citizens' realization of their constitutional right to uniting and in connection with the setting up, the activity, the reorganization and (or) the liquidation of the trade unions, of their associations (amalgamations) and of the primary trade union organizations (hereinafter referred to as the trade unions).

The present Federal Law shall lay down the legal grounds for the setting up of the trade unions, for their rights and the guarantees for their activity; it shall regulate the trade unions' relations with the state power bodies, with the local self-government bodies, with the employers, their associations (unions, amalgamations) and with other public associations, with the legal persons and with the citizens.

Article 2. The Right to Join in the Trade Unions

1. The trade union shall be a voluntary association of the citizens, brought together by their common production and trade interests by the kind of their activity, set up to represent them and to protect their socio-labour rights and interests.

All the trade unions shall enjoy equal rights.

2. Everybody, who has reached the age of 14 years and is performing a labour (vocational) activity, shall have the right to set up the trade unions at his own choice for the protection of his interests, to join them, to engage in the trade union activity and to leave the trade unions.

This right shall be realized freely and without obtaining a preliminary permission.

3. The citizens of the Russian Federation, residing outside of its territory, may be members of the Russian trade unions.

4. The foreign citizens and the stateless persons, who reside on the territory of the Russian Federation, may be members of the Russian trade unions, with the exception of the cases, stipulated by the federal laws or by the international agreements of the Russian Federation.

5. The trade unions shall have the right to set up their associations (amalgamations) according to the sectoral, the territorial or the other principle, taking into account the trade specifics - the all-Russia associations (amalgamations) of the trade unions, the inter-regional associations (amalgamations) of the trade unions, and the territorial associations (amalgamations) of the trade unions. The trade unions and their associations (amalgamations) shall have the right to cooperate with the trade unions of the other states, to join the international trade union and other associations and organizations, and to conclude contracts and agreements with them.

Article 3. The Basic Terminology

For the purposes of the present Federal Law, the applied terms shall denote:

- the primary trade union organization - a voluntary association of the trade union members, working, as a rule, at one and the same enterprise, in one and the same institution or organization, regardless of the forms of ownership and of subordination, which operates on the ground of the provisions, adopted by it in conformity with the Rules, or on the ground of the General Provisions on the primary trade union organization of the corresponding trade union;

- the all-Russia Trade Union - a voluntary association of the trade union members of one and the same, or of several spheres of activity, linked up by common socio-labour and trade interests and operating on the entire territory of the Russian Federation or on the territory of over a half of the subjects of the Russian Federation, or uniting not less than a half of the total number of the workers of one and the same, or of several spheres of activity;

- the all-Russia association (amalgamation) of the trade unions - a voluntary association of all-Russia trade unions, or of the territorial associations (amalgamations) of the trade union organizations, operating on the entire territory of the Russian Federation or on the territory of over a half of the subjects of the Russian Federation;

- the inter-regional trade union - a voluntary association of the trade union members - the workers of one and the same, or of several spheres of activity, operating on the territory of not less than a half of the subjects of the Russian Federation;

- the inter-regional association (amalgamation) of the trade union organizations - a voluntary association of the inter-regional trade unions and (or) of the territorial associations (amalgamations) of the trade union organizations, operating on the territory of less than a half of the subjects of the Russian Federation;

- the territorial association (amalgamation) of the trade union organizations - a voluntary association of the trade union organizations, operating, as a rule, on the territory of one subject of the Russian Federation or on the territory of a city or of a district;

- the territorial trade union organization - a voluntary association of the members of the primary trade union organizations of one and the same trade union, operating on the territory of one subject of the Russian Federation, or on the territory of several subjects of the Russian Federation, or on the territory of a city or of a district;

- the trade union body - a body, set up in conformity with the Rules of the trade union association (amalgamation) of the trade unions, or in conformity with the provisions on the primary trade union organization;

- the trade union representative (an authorized person) - a trade union organizer, a trade union group leader, the leader of a trade union, of an association (amalgamation) of the trade unions or of a trade union body, or another person, authorized for the representation according to the Rules of the trade union, the association (amalgamation) of the trade unions, according to the provisions on the primary trade union organization, or by the decision of the trade union body;

- the organization - an enterprise, institution or organization, regardless of the form of ownership and of subordination;

- the employer - an organization (a legal person), represented by its leader (administration), or a natural person, with whom the worker maintains labour relations;

- the worker - a natural person, working in an organization on the ground of a labour agreement (contract), a person, engaged in the individual business activity, or a person, studying at an educational establishment for the primary, secondary or higher professional education;

- the trade union member - a person (worker, temporarily off a job, or a pensioner), who is the member of a primary trade union organization.

    Article 4. The Sphere of Operation of the Present Federal Law

    1. The operation of the present Federal Law shall be spread to all organizations, situated on the territory of the Russian Federation, and also to the Russian organizations, situated abroad, as well as to the other organizations, in conformity with the international treaties of the Russian Federation.

    2. The rights of the trade unions and the guarantees for their activity, secured by the present Federal Law, shall be spread to all primary trade union organizations, to their associations (amalgamations), and also to the trade union bodies, set up by them, and to the trade union representatives within the scope of their powers.

    Federal Law No. 86-FZ of June 30, 2003 amended paragraph 2 of Item 2 of Article 4 of this Federal Law. The amendments shall enter into force as of July 1, 2003

    The specifics of application of the present Federal Law with respect to the trade unions, uniting the military, the workers of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation, of the State Fire Service of the Ministry of the Russian Federation for the Affairs of Civil Defence, Emergency Situations and the Liquidation of the Aftermath of Natural Calamities, of the federal bodies of the Federal Security Service, of the customs bodies of the Russian Federation, of the bodies for control over the traffic of narcotics and psychotropic substances, of the judges and of the prosecutors, shall be defined by the corresponding federal laws.

    Article 5. Independence of the Trade Unions

    1. The trade unions shall be independent in their activity from the executive power bodies and the local self-government bodies, from the employers and their associations (unions and amalgamations), from political parties and from other public associations; they shall not report to them and shall not be controlled by them.

    2. The interference with the activity of the trade unions on the part of the state power bodies, of the local self-government bodies and of their official persons, which may entail the restriction of the trade unions' rights, or may prevent the legal performance of their statutory activity, shall be prohibited.

    Article 6. Legal Grounds for the Trade Unions' Activity

    1. The trade unions' rights in their relationships with the state power bodies, with the local self-government bodies, with the employers and with their associations (unions, amalgamations) and also with other public associations, as well as the guarantees for their activity shall be established by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, by the present Federal Law and by the other federal laws, and by the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

    2. The legislation of the subjects of the Russian Federation shall not restrict the trade unions' rights and the guarantees for their activity, stipulated by the federal laws.

    3. If the international treaties of the Russian Federation or the conventions of the International Labour Organization, ratified by the Russian Federation, lay down other rules than those stipulated by the present Federal Law, the rules of the international treaties and conventions shall be applied.

    Article 7. The Rules of the Trade Unions and of Their Associations (Amalgamations), and Provisions on the Primary Trade Union Organizations

    1. The trade unions and the associations (amalgamations) thereof shall independently elaborate and approve their Rules and the provisions on the primary trade union organizations and on their structure, and shall hold meetings, conferences, congresses and other events.

    2. The Rules of a trade union shall stipulate:

    - the name, the goals and the tasks of the trade union;

    - the categories and the occupational groups of the united citizens;

    - the terms and the procedure for setting up the trade union, for accepting to the trade union's membership and for an exit from it, the rights and the duties of the trade union members;

    - the territory, within whose boundaries the trade union shall perform its activity;

    - its organizational structure;

    - the procedure for setting up, the authority of the trade union bodies and the term of their powers;

    - the procedure for introducing amendments and addenda into the Rules, the order of payment of the entrance and the membership dues;

    - the sources for deriving the incomes and for acquiring the other property, the way of management of the trade union property;

    - the place of location of the trade union body;

    - the order of reorganizing, of ceasing the activity and of liquidating the trade union, and of using its property in these cases;

    - the other issues, referred to the trade union activity.

      3. The Rules of an association (an amalgamation) of the trade unions shall indicate the names, the goals and the tasks of the association (amalgamation) of the trade unions;

      - the composition of the membership;

      - the territory, within whose boundaries they shall perform their activity;

      - the procedure for setting up the trade union bodies and for delineating their competence;

      - the place of location of the trade union body;

      - the term of powers of the trade union body;

      - the sources for deriving the incomes and for acquiring the other property, the way of management of the trade union property;

      - the procedure for introducing amendments and addenda into the Rules;

      - the order of reorganization, of ceasing the activity of and of liquidating the association (amalgamation) of the trade unions and of the use of their property in these cases;

      - the other issues, referred to the activity of the trade union association (amalgamation).

        Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 8, 2003 amended Article 8 of this Federal Law

        Article 8. State Registration of Trade Unions, of Their Associations (Amalgamations) and of Primary Trade Union Organizations as Legal Entities

        Federal Law No. 58-FZ of June 29, 2004 amended Item 1 of Article 8 of this Federal Law

        1. The legal capacity of a trade union, of their associations (amalgamations) and of a primary trade union organization as a legal entity shall arise from the moment of state registration thereof, carried out in compliance with the Federal Law on State Registration of Juridical Persons and Individual Businessmen, subject to the special procedure for state registration of trade unions, their associations (amalgamations) and primary trade union organizations established by the present Federal Law.

        State registration of a trade union, of an association (amalgamation) of trade unions, of a primary trade union organization as a legal entity shall be carried out for informational purposes.

        The originals or copies of statutes of, or regulations on, primary trade union organizations attested and certified by a notary, attested and certified copies of decisions of congresses (conferences, meetings) on the establishment of trade unions, of associations (amalgamations) thereof, of primary trade union organizations, on the endorsement of statutes of, or regulations on, primary trade union organizations, of lists of members of appropriate trade unions, associations (amalgamations) thereof and of primary trade union organizations shall be submitted for state registration of the trade unions, societies (associations) thereof, of primary trade union organizations to the the federal executive body authorised in the sphere of the state registration of public associations (hereinafter referred to as the federal body of state registration) or a territorial agency thereof in a subject of the Russian Federation at the location of an appropriate trade union body.

        See the Rules for Considering Applications and for Adopting by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and by Its Territorial Bodies the Decision on the State Registration of Chambers of Industry and Commerce, of Public Associations, Including Political Parties, of Trade Unions and of National-Cultural Autonomies, approved by Order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation No. 68 of March 25, 2003

        Trade unions, their associations (amalgamations) and primary trade union organizations shall submit said documents within one month, as of the date of their establishment.

        Upon the receipt of said documents the federal body of state registration or a territorial agency thereof shall direct to the federal executive body authorized under Article 2 of the Federal Law on State Registration of Juridical Persons and Individual Businessmen (hereinafter referred to as the authorized registering body) the data and documents necessary for exercising by this body the functions related to keeping the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

        The entry to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities of data about establishment, reorganization and liquidation of a trade union, an association (amalgamation) of trade unions, of a primary trade union organization, as well as of other data provided for by federal laws, shall be made by the authorized registering body on the basis of the documents submitted by the federal body of state registration or by a territorial agency thereof. With this, the procedure for interaction of the federal body of state registration and of territorial agencies thereof with the authorized registering body with regard to state registration of trade unions, of societies (associations) thereof and of primary trade union organizations shall be determined by the Government of the Russian Federation.

        Upon the receipt of information from the authorized registering body on an entry about a trade union, or an association (amalgamation) of trade unions, or a primary trade union organization, made to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, the federal body of state registration or a territorial agency thereof shall issue to the applicant a document confirming the fact of making the entry about the trade union, or the association (amalgamation) of trade unions, or the primary trade union organization to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

        The federal body of state registration, territorial agencies thereof in the subjects of the Russian Federation and the authorized registering body shall not be empowered to exercise control over the activities of trade unions, their associations (amalgamations) and primary trade union organizations, as well as to refuse their registration.

        Trade unions, their associations (amalgamations) and primary trade union organizations shall be entitled not to obtain registration. In this case they shall not acquire the rights of a legal entity.

        State registration of a primary trade union organization as a legal entity may be also effected by a representative of the trade union body of the appropriate trade union by proxy.

        2. A refusal of state registration or evasion thereof may be appealed against by trade unions, their associations (amalgamations) and by primary trade union organizations with court.

        Article 9. Prohibition of the Citizens' Discrimination Because of Affiliation or Non-Affiliation with the Trade Unions

        1. The affiliation or non-affiliation with the trade unions shall not entail any restriction of the citizens' socio-labour, political and other rights and freedoms, guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, by the federal laws and by the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

        2. It shall be prohibited to make the employment, the promotion at work and the dismissal of a person dependent on his affiliation or non-affiliation with the trade union.

        Federal Law No. 169-FZ of December 8, 2003 amended Article 10 of this Federal Law

        Article 10. Reorganization, Cessation of the Activity, Suspension and Prohibition of the Activity of the Trade Union or of the Primary Trade Union Association

        1. The reorganization or the cessation of the activity of the trade union or of the primary trade union organization shall be effected by the decision of its members in the order, defined by the Rules of the trade union or by the provisions on the primary trade union organization, and the liquidation of the trade union or of the primary trade union organization as a legal entity - in conformity with the federal law.

        Federal Law No. 58-FZ of June 29, 2004 amended Item 2 of Article 10 of this Federal Law

        2. State registration of a trade union or a primary trade union organization in connection with liquidation thereof and state registration of a trade union or a primary trade union organization, established by way of reorganization, shall be carried out in the procedure provided for by the Federal Law on State Registration of Juridical Persons and Individual Businessmen subject to the peculiarities of such registration stipulated by this Federal Law.

        The data and documents required for state registration of a trade union or a primary trade union organization in connection with their liquidation shall be submitted to the body which has issued a document about state registration of this trade union or this primary trade union organization.

        The documents required for state registration of a trade union or a primary trade union organization, established by way of reorganization, shall be submitted to the federal body of state registration or territorial agencies thereof in appropriate subjects of the Russian Federation. With this, a procedure for submitting said documents shall be determined by the Government of the Russian Federation.

        Upon the receipt of the documents required for state registration of a trade union or a primary trade union organization in connection with liquidation thereof or in the event of their establishment by way of reorganization, the federal body of justice or a territorial agency thereof shall submit to the authorized registering body the data and documents required for exercising by this body the functions related to keeping the Unified State Register of Legal Entities.

        On the basis of required data and documents, submitted by the federal body of state registration or a territorial agency thereof, the authorized registering body in five working days at latest, as of the date of receiving said data and documents, shall make an appropriate entry to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and shall inform about it the body, that has submitted said data and documents, at latest in one working day, next following the date of making an appropriate entry.

        A procedure for interaction of the federal body of state registration and of territorial agencies thereof with the authorized registering body with regard to state registration of a trade union or a primary trade union organization in connection with liquidation thereof or in the event of their establishment by way of reorganization shall be determined by the Government of the Russian Federation.

        3. If the activity of the trade union contradicts the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Constitutions (the Charters) of the subjects of the Russian Federation or the federal laws, it may be suspended for a term of up to six months or prohibited by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation or of the corresponding court of the subject of the Russian Federation upon the application of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation or of the Prosecutor of the corresponding subject of the Russian Federation. The suspension or the prohibition of the activity of the trade union by the decision of any other bodies shall be inadmissible.

        Federal Law No. 112-FZ of July 25, 2002 supplemented Article 10 of this Federal Law with Item 4 of the following content:

        4. The activity of a trade union or of a primary trade union organization may be suspended or prohibited in the order and on the grounds, stipulated in the Federal Law on the Counteraction to an Extremist Activity.

        Chapter II. The Fundamental Rights of the Trade Unions

        Article 11. The Right of the Trade Union to Represent and to Protect the Workers' Socio-Labour Rights and Interests

        1. The trade unions, their associations (amalgamations) and the primary trade union organizations and their bodies shall represent and protect the rights and the interests of the trade union members in the issues of the individual labour and labour-involved relations, and in the sphere of collective rights and interests - the said rights and interests of the workers, regardless of their membership in the trade unions, in case they have been authorized for representation in the established order.

        The draft legislative acts, concerned with the workers' socio-labour rights, shall be considered by the federal state power bodies with account for the proposals of the all-Russia trade unions and their associations (amalgamations).

        The draft normative legal acts, concerned with the workers' socio-labour rights, shall be considered and adopted by the executive power bodies and by the local self-government bodies with account for the opinion of the corresponding trade unions.

        The trade unions shall have the right to come out with proposals on the corresponding state power bodies adopting the laws and the other normative legal acts, involved in the socio-labour sphere.

        2. The trade unions shall defend the right of its members to freely dispose of their labour abilities and to choose the kind of activity and the trade, as well as their right to the remuneration of labour without any discrimination and not lower than the minimum size of the remuneration of labour, established by the federal law.

        3. The systems of the remuneration of labour, the forms of material stimulation, the sizes of the tariff rates (the wages), and the labour norms shall be established by the employers and by their associations (unions, amalgamations) in agreement with the corresponding trade union bodies, and shall be confirmed in the collective agreements and in the agreements.

        4. The trade unions shall have the right to attend, when their proposals are considered by the state power bodies, by the local self-government bodies and by the employers and their associations (unions, amalgamations), as well as by the other public associations.

        5. The trade union representatives shall have the right to freely visit the organizations and the work places, where the members of the corresponding trade unions work, in order to realize their statutory tasks and the rights, granted to the trade unions.

        Article 12. The Right of the Trade Unions to Promote Employment

        1. The trade unions shall have the right to take part in elaborating the state programmes for employment, to propose measures for the social protection of the trade union members, dismissed as a result of the reorganization or the liquidation of the organization, and to exert the trade union control over the employment and over the observation of the legislation in the sphere of employment.

        2. Liquidation of the organization or of its subdivisions, the change of its form of ownership or of its legal- organizational form, a complete or a partial suspension of the production (of the work process), entailing the reduction of the number of the jobs or the worsening of the conditions of labour, may be effected only after informing about it in advance (not later than in three months) the corresponding trade unions and after holding with them negotiations on observing the rights and the interests of the trade union members.

        3. The trade unions shall have the right to move for the consideration of the local self-government bodies proposals on postponing the term or on a temporary suspension of the implementation of measures, involved in the mass dismissal of the workers.

        4. The labour agreement (the contract) with the worker - a trade union member may be cancelled at the employer's initiative only after first obtaining the consent of the corresponding trade union body in the cases, stipulated by the legislation, by the collective agreements and the agreements.

        5. The drawing in and using in the Russian Federation of the foreign labour force shall be done with account for, correspondingly, the opinion of the all-Russia associations (amalgamations) of the trade unions or of the territorial associations (amalgamations) of the trade union organizations.

        On participating of the trade unions in assistance in employment of the population, see the Law of the Russian Federation of April 19, 1991 on the Employment of the Population in the Russian Federation

        Article 13. The Right of the Trade Unions and of the Primary Trade Union Organizations to Hold Collective Negotiations, to Conclude Agreements and Collective Agreements, and to Exert Control over Their Execution

        1. The trade unions, their associations (amalgamations) and the primary trade union organizations and their bodies shall have the right to conduct collective negotiations and to conclude agreements and collective agreements on behalf of the workers and in conformity with the federal law.

        On the procedure of concluding of the collective contracts and agreements, see the Law of the Russian Federation No. 2490-I of March 11, 1992 on Collective Contracts and Agreements

        See the General Agreement between the all-Russia association of the trade unions, all-Russia associations of the employers and the Government of the Russian Federation on 1996-1997 years

        The representation of the trade unions and of their associations (amalgamations) for conducting the collective negotiations and for concluding agreements on behalf of the workers on the federal, the sectoral or the territorial levels shall be defined with account for the number of the trade union members they unite.

        If several primary trade union organizations of different trade unions function in an organization, their representation at the collective negotiations and at the conclusion of collective agreements shall be defined with account for the number of the trade union members they represent.

        Holding the negotiations and conclusion of the agreements and of the collective agreements on behalf of the workers by the persons, representing the employer, shall be prohibited.

        2. The employers and their associations (unions and amalgamations), the executive power bodies and the local self-government bodies shall be obliged to conduct the collective negotiations with the primary trade union organizations, the trade unions and their associations (amalgamations) on the socio-labour issues, and also on the issues, involved in concluding the collective agreements and the agreements, if the primary trade union organizations, the trade unions and their associations (amalgamations) come out as the initiators of such negotiations, and to conclude the collective agreements and the agreements on the terms, agreed between the parties.

        3. The primary trade union organizations, the trade unions and their associations (amalgamations) shall have the right to exert the trade union control over the execution of the collective agreements and of the agreements.

        If the employers or their associations (their unions or amalgamations), the executive power bodies or the local self- government bodies violate the terms of the collective agreement or of the agreement, the primary trade union organizations, the trade unions, the trade unions' associations (amalgamations) and their bodies shall have the right to send to them a presentation for eliminating these violations, which shall be considered within a week's term. In case of the refusal to eliminate these violations or of the failure to achieve an agreement within the said term, the differences shall be considered in conformity with the federal law.

        Article 14. The Right of the Trade Unions to Take Part in Regulating Collective Labour Disputes

        The trade unions shall have the right to take part in regulating collective labour disputes; they shall have the right to stage strikes, to hold meetings, mass gatherings, street processions and demonstrations, pickets and other collective actions, while using them as a means for protecting the workers' socio-labour rights and interests.

        On the settlement of the collective labour disputes, see the Federal Law No. 175-FZ of November 23, 1995 on the Procedure for Resolving Collective Labour Disputes

        Article 15. The Trade Unions' Relations with the Employers and Their Associations (Unions, Amalgamations), the State Power Bodies and the Local Self-Government Bodies

        1. The relations of the trade unions with the employers and with their associations (amalgamations), with the state power bodies and with the local self-government bodies, shall rely on the principle of the social partnership and of the interaction of the parties to the labour relations and their representatives, and also on a system of collective agreements and of agreements.

        2. The trade unions shall have the right to take part in electing the state power bodies and the local self-government bodies in conformity with the federal legislation and with the legislation of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

        3. The trade unions shall have equal rights with other social partners to a parity participation in the management of the state social insurance funds, of the employment, of the medical insurance, of the pension and of the other funds, set up at the expense of the insurance fees, and shall also have the right to exert the trade union control over the use of the means from these funds. The Rules (Provisions) of these funds shall be approved by consent with the all-Russia associations (amalgamations) of the trade unions or with the corresponding all-Russia trade unions.

        4. The trade unions shall organize and carry out health- improvement events among the trade union members and their families. The amount of the means, assigned for this purpose, shall be defined by the management body (the board) of the Social Insurance Fund of the Russian Federation upon the presentation of the corresponding trade unions.

        5. The trade unions shall have the right to interact with the state power bodies and the local self-government bodies, with the associations (unions,amalgamations) and organizations for developing the sanatorium and resort medical treatment, and with the institutions for the rest and tourism, and for a massive physical culture and sport.

        Article 16. Relations of the Trade Unions, the Primary Trade Union Organizations and Their Bodies with Other Workers' Representative Bodies in the Organization, and with the Management Bodies of the Organization

        1. The relations of the trade unions, of the primary trade union organizations and of their bodies with other representative bodies of the workers in the organization shall be based on cooperation.

        The existence in the organization of other representative bodies of the workers shall not be made use of to interfere with the trade unions' activity in conformity with the present Federal Law.

        2. The trade unions shall have the right to propose their representatives as candidates for election to other workers' representative bodies in the organization.

        3. The trade unions shall have the right, on the orders of the workers, to have their own representatives in the collegiate management bodies of the organization.

        4. The participation of the trade union representatives in the work of other representative bodies of the workers in the organization shall not deprive them of the right to directly turn to the employers on the issues, involved in the interests of the trade union members.

        Article 17. The Trade Unions' Right to Information

        1. To perform their statutory activity, the trade unions shall have the right to receive, free of charge and without any obstruction, from the employers and their associations (unions, amalgamations), from the state power bodies and from the local self-government bodies, information on the socio-labour issues.

        The trade union bodies shall have the right to discuss the obtained information with inviting representatives of the employers and of their associations (unions, amalgamations), of the organization's management bodies, of the state power bodies and of the local self-government bodies.

        2. The trade unions shall have the right to make use of the state mass media in the order, stipulated by agreements with their founders, and may also be the founders of the mass media in conformity with the federal law.

        On the procedure of the establishment of mass media, see the Law of the Russian Federation No. 2124-1 of December 27, 1991

        Article 18. The Trade Unions' Right to Take Part in Training and in Improving the Standard of the Trade Union Cadres

        The trade unions shall have the right to call together educational and scientific-research institutions, to train, re-train and improve the qualifications of the trade union cadres, and to coach the trade union workers and the trade union members.

        The trade union educational and scientific-research institutions may be partly financed at the expense of the means from the corresponding budgets in conformity with the established order.

        Article 19. The Trade Unions' Right to Exert the Trade Union Control over Observation of the Legislation on Labour

        1. The trade unions shall have the right to exert the trade union control over the employers' and the official persons' observing the legislation on labour, including on the issues of the labour agreement (contract), the working hours and the time of rest, of the remuneration of labour, of the guarantees and compensations, of the privileges and advantages, and also on the other socio-labour issues in the organizations, in which the members of the given trade union work; they shall also have the right to demand that the exposed violations be eliminated. The employers and the official persons shall be obliged, within a week's term from the moment of receiving the demand to eliminate the exposed violations, to inform the trade union about the results of its consideration and about the measures launched.

        2. For the trade unions to exert their control over the observation of the legislation on labour, the trade unions shall have the right to set up their own labour inspection services, which shall be vested with the powers, stipulated by the provisions, approved by the trade unions.

        The trade unions and their labour inspection services shall interact, when exercising these powers, with the state bodies for supervision and control over the observation of the legislation on labour.

        3. The trade union inspectors on labour shall have the right to visit without any obstructions the organizations, regardless of the forms of ownership and subordination, in which the members of the given trade union work, for carrying out check-ups on the observation of the labour legislation and of the legislation on the trade unions, as well as of the employers' meeting the terms of the collective agreement or of the agreement.

        Article 20. The Trade Unions' Rights in Protecting Labour and the Environment

        1. The trade unions shall have the right to participate in compiling state programmes for the protection of labour and of the environment, and also in elaborating the normative legal and other acts, regulating the issues, involved in the labour protection, occupational diseases and the ecological safety.

        2. The trade unions shall exert the trade union control over the state of labour and over the environment through their bodies, through their authorized (trusted) persons for labour protection and through their own inspection services on labour protection, operating on the ground of the provisions, approved by the trade unions. For these purposes, they shall have the right to visit the organizations without obstruction, regardless of their forms of ownership and subordination, their structural subdivisions and the workplaces, where the members of the given trade union work, to participate in investigating accidents, occurring at production (at work), to defend the rights and the interests of the trade union members in the issues, involved in the labour conditions and in the safety at production (at work), in compensating for the damage, caused to their health at production (at work), and also in other issues, involved in the protection of labour and of the environment, in conformity with the federal legislation.

        3. In the cases of exposing the violations, jeopardizing the life and the health of the workers, the trade unions in the organization and the labour protection inspectors shall have the right to demand an immediate elimination of these violations from the employer, while simultaneously turning to the Federal Labour Inspection Service for it to take urgent measures.

        Federal Law No. 45-FZ of May 9, 2005 amended Item 4 of Article 20 of this Federal Law. The amendments shall enter into force upon the expiry of ninety days after the official publication of said Federal Law

        4. If the demands for eliminating the violations are not satisfied, in particular if a direct threat arises to the workers' life and health, the trade union inspectors on labour protection shall have the right to demand that the employer, the management body of the organization or the official person suspend the works until the Federal Labour Inspection Service takes the final decision. The employer or the official person for the failure to eliminate violations shall bear the responsibility stipulated by legislation.

        5. The trade unions shall have the right to take part in an expert examination of labour conditions at the designed, constructed and operated production objects, and also in an expert examination of the designed and the operated mechanisms and tools.

        Article 21. The Trade Unions' Participation in Carrying out the Privatization of the State-Run and Municipal Property

        The trade unions shall have the right to send their representatives to the commissions for the privatization of the state-run and municipal property, including the socially-oriented objects, which are set up in the organizations.

        A trade union representative shall be included into the group of the organization's representatives, directed to the corresponding property management committee for taking part in the work of the commission on the privatization of the organization and for exerting the trade union control.

        Article 22. The Trade Unions' Rights in the Social Protection of the Workers

        1. The rights of the trade unions in the sphere of social insurance and of the health protection, social maintenance, improvement of the housing conditions and of other kinds of the social protection of the workers shall be regulated by the corresponding federal laws, and also by the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation.

        2. The trade unions shall have the right to take part in compiling the social programmes, aimed at creating conditions, that would ensure a dignified life and a free development of man, in elaborating measures for the social protection of the workers and in defining the basic criteria for the life standard, the amount of the indexation of the wages, pensions, stipends, allowances and compensations, depending on the change of the price index, and shall also have the right to exert the trade union control over the observation of the legislation in the said sphere.

        Article 23. The Trade Unions' Right to Protect the Workers' Interests in the Bodies for Considering Labour Disputes

        In case of violations of the labour legislation, the trade unions shall have the right, at the request of the trade union members and of other workers, and also at their own initiative, to file applications for protecting their labour rights with the bodies, considering labour disputes.

        To protect the socio-labour and other civil rights and occupational interests of their members, the trade unions may set up juridical services and legal advice offices.

        Chapter III. Guarantees for the Trade Unions' Rights

        Article 24. Guarantees for the Trade Unions' Property Rights

        1. The trade unions, their associations (amalgamations) and the primary trade union organizations shall possess, use and dispose of the property, belonging to them by the right of ownership, including the monetary means, necessary to realize their statutory goals and tasks; they shall also possess and make use of the other property, transferred to them in the established order for the economic management.

        2. The recognition, inviolability and protection of the trade unions' rights of ownership and the conducive conditions for exercising these rights on a par with other legal persons, regardless of the forms of ownership, in conformity with the federal laws, with the laws of the subjects of the Russian Federation and the legal acts of the local self-government bodies, shall be guaranteed.

        No financial control over the means of the trade unions shall be exerted by the executive power bodies, with the exception of control over the means, derived from the business activity.

        No restriction of an independent financial activity of the trade unions shall be admitted.

        The property of the trade unions may be alienated only by the court decision.

        3. The trade unions shall not be answerable by the obligations of the organizations, the state power bodies and the local self-government bodies, which in their turn shall not be answerable by the obligations of the trade unions.

        4. The sources and the order for amassing the property and for making use of the trade unions' means shall be defined by their Rules and by the provisions on the primary trade union organizations.

        5. Placed into the ownership of the trade unions may be the land plots, buildings and structures, the installations, the sanatorium and resort, the tourist, sports and other health-improvement institutions, the cultural-educational, scientific-research and educational establishments, the housing fund and the organizations, including the publishing houses and the printing works, as well as the securities and the other property, necessary to provide for the trade unions' statutory activity.

        The plots, buildings and structures, the installations, the sanatorium and resort, the tourist, sports and other health-improvement institutions, the cultural-educational, scientific-research and educational establishments, the housing fund and the organizations, including the publishing houses and the printing works, as well as the securities and the other property, necessary to provide for the trade unions' statutory activity.

        6. The trade unions shall have the right to institute the banks and the solidarity foundations, the insurance, cultural and enlightenment foundations, those for training and for coaching the personnel, as well as the other foundations, corresponding to the trade unions' statutory goals.

        7. The trade unions shall have the right to engage in the business activity on the ground of the federal legislation through the organizations, instituted by them, in order to achieve the goals, stipulated by their Rules and corresponding to these goals.

        Article 25. Guarantees for the Workers-Members of the Trade Union Bodies, Who Are Not Released from Their Principal Job

        On the guarantees to the workers, who are included into the composition of the trade union bodies and not being released from their principal job, see also the Labour Code of the Russian Federation

        1. The workers, who are included into the composition of the trade union bodies, while not being released from their principal job, shall not be subject to a disciplinary penalty without first obtaining the consent of the trade union body, whose members they are; the heads of the trade union bodies in the subdivisions of the organization - without first obtaining the consent of the corresponding trade union body in the organization; and the trade union organizers - without first obtaining the consent of the corresponding trade union association (amalgamation).

        2. The said trade union workers shall not be shifted to another job at the employer's initiative without first obtaining the consent of the trade union body, whose members they are.

        Resolution of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation No. 3-P of January 24, 2002 recognised as not corresponding to the Constitution of the Russian Federation, to its Articles 19 (the first and the second parts), 34 (the first part), 35 (the second part), 37 (the first part), 46 (the first part) and 55 (the third part), the second part of Article 235 of the Code of Laws on Labour of the Russian Federation and Item 3 of Article 25 of this Federal Law in the part in which they do not permit, without obtaining a preliminary consent from the corresponding trade unions, of workers - the members of trade union bodies, not relieved of their principal work, if they commit disciplinary offences that are a ground for cancelling the labour agreement with them at the employer's initiative in conformity with the law

        3. The workers-members of the trade union bodies, not released from their principal job, shall be dismissed at the initiative of the employer, besides observing the general order for the dismissal, only after obtaining the consent of the trade union body, whose members they are; the trade union group organizers - of the corresponding body of the organization's subdivision (in its absence - of the corresponding trade union body in the organization); and the heads and the members of the trade union bodies in the organization and the trade union organizers - only after obtaining the consent of the corresponding trade union association (amalgamation).

        4. Subjection to a disciplinary penalty of the authorized persons of the trade union for labour protection and of the trade union's representatives in the joint committees (commissions) on labour protection, established in the organization, or shifting them to another job, or their dismissal at the employer's initiative shall be admissible only after obtaining the consent of the trade union body in the primary trade union organization.

        5. The members of the trade union bodies, not released from their principal job, the trade union's authorized persons for labour protection and the trade union's representatives in the joint committees (commissions) on labour protection shall be relieved from their principal job to discharge the trade union duties in the interest of the work collective, and also over the period of the short-term trade union studies. The terms for the said persons' relief from their principal job and the order of their remuneration over the period of their discharge of the trade union duties, as well as over the period of their studies, shall be defined by the collective agreement or by the agreement.

        6. The members of the trade union bodies, not released from their principal job, shall be relieved from it to attend, in the capacity of delegates, the congresses and conferences, called up by the trade unions, and also to take part in the work of their elected bodies. The terms for their relief from the job and the order of remuneration over the period of their participation in the said events, shall be defined by the collective agreement or by the agreement.

        Article 26. Guarantees for the Full-Time Trade Union Workers, Elected (Delegated) to the Trade Union Bodies

        On the guarantees for the full-time trade union workers, elected to the trade union bodies, see also the Labour Code of the Russian Federation

        1. The trade union workers, released from their job in the organization because of their election (delegation) to the elected posts in the trade union bodies, shall be given, after the end of the term of their powers, the former job (post) in the same organization, or, by the worker's consent - in another organization.

        2. If it is impossible to give to him the corresponding job (post) by the former place of work in case of the organization's reorganization, the employer or his successor, and in case of the organization's liquidation - the trade union, shall secure for the full-time trade union worker his average earnings over the period of his looking for a job, but not over six months, and in case of his studying or re- training - up to one year.

        3. The period of work of the full-time trade union workers, elected (delegated) to the trade union bodies, shall be entered into their total and special work record.

        4. The full-time trade union workers, elected (delegated) to the body of a primary trade union organization, shall enjoy the same socio-labour rights and privileges, as other workers in the organization, in conformity with the collective agreement or with the agreement.

        Article 27. Guarantees for the Right to Work for the Workers-Former Members of the Trade Union Bodies

        The workers, who were members of the trade union bodies, shall not be dismissed at the initiative of the employer in the course of two years after the expiry of the term of their powers, except in the case of the organization's liquidation or of the workers' committing the actions, entailing dismissal from the job according to the federal law. In these cases, the dismissal shall be effected in the way, stipulated by Item 3 of Article 25 of the present Federal Law.

        Article 28. The Employer's Duties in Creating Conditions for the Trade Union Activity

        1. The employer shall give into a free use to the trade unions, functioning in the organization, the equipment, the premises and the means of transportation and of communication, necessary for their activity in conformity with the collective agreement or with the agreement.

        2. The employer may give into a free use to the trade unions the buildings, structures, premises and other objects, which are on its balance or are rented by it, as well as the rest, sports and health-improvement centres, necessary to organize the rest and to carry out the cultural-educational, physical-culture and health-improvement work among the workers and their family members. The economic maintenance, the repairs, the heating, lighting, cleaning and guarding, as well as the equipment of the said objects shall be done by the organization, unless otherwise envisaged by the collective agreement or by the agreement.

        The list of the objects and the amounts of deductions to the trade union for its performing the socio-cultural and other work in the organization shall be defined in the order and on the terms, laid down by the federal legislation, by the legislation of the subjects of the Russian Federation and by the collective agreement or by the agreement.

        3. If there are written applications to this effect from the workers-the trade union members, the employer shall monthly and free of charge transfer onto the trade union's account the trade union membership dues from the wages of the said workers in conformity with the collective agreement or with the agreement. The employer shall not have the right to delay the transfer of the said means.

        4. In the organizations, in which the trade unions have concluded collective agreements or the agreements, or to which shall be spread the operation of the sectoral (inter-sectoral) tariff agreements, the employers shall monthly transfer onto the trade unions' accounts, upon the written applications from the workers, who are not the trade union members, the monetary means from the said workers' wages on the terms and in the order, laid down by the collective agreements or by the sectoral (inter-sectoral) tariff agreements. If there are several trade unions, functioning in the organization, all of which have taken part in signing the collective agreement or the sectoral (inter-sectoral) tariff agreement, the monetary means shall be transferred onto the accounts of these trade unions proportionately to the number of their membership.

        Chapter IV. Protection of the Trade Unions' Rights

        Article 29. Judicial Protection of the Trade Unions' Rights

        The judicial protection of the trade unions' rights shall be guaranteed.

        The cases on violations of the trade unions' rights shall be considered by the court upon an application from the Prosecutor or upon the statement of claim or a complaint from the corresponding trade union body or of the primary trade union organization.

        Article 30. Responsibility for Violating the Trade Unions' Rights

        1. The official persons of the state power bodies and of the local self-government bodies, the employers and the official persons of their associations (unions, amalgamations) shall bear disciplinary, administrative and criminal responsibility in conformity with the federal laws for violating the legislation on the trade unions.

        2. The bodies of the all-Russia trade unions and of the trade union associations (amalgamations) of the primary trade union organizations, shall have the right to demand that the official persons, who violate the legislation on the trade unions or do not fulfil the obligations, envisaged by the collective agreement or by the agreement, be called to the disciplinary responsibility, up to dismissal.

        Upon the demand of the said trade union bodies, the employer shall be obliged to cancel the labour agreement (contract) with the official person, if the latter violates the legislation on the trade unions, or if he does not carry out his obligations by the collective agreement or by the agreement.

        Chapter V. The Trade Unions' Responsibility

        Article 31. The Trade Unions' Responsibility

        For the non-fulfilment of their obligations by the collective or by the other agreement, for staging and holding a strike, recognized as illegal by the court, the trade unions and the persons-members of their leading bodies shall be held responsible in conformity with the federal laws.

        Chapter VI. The Final Provisions

        Article 32. The Present Federal Law Coming into Force

        The present Federal Law shall come into force as from the date of its official publication.

        Article 33. On Bringing Legal Acts into Correspondence with the Present Federal Law

        To propose to the President of the Russian Federation and to order to the Government of the Russian Federation that they bring their legal acts into correspondence with the present Federal Law.

        President

        of the Russian Federation

        Boris Yeltsin

        Moscow, the Kremlin

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