Employmentweb_low

labour Markets and welfare states: a country perspective
economy employs some 10 million people, and generates 22 per cent
of the gDp, the source of grave problems due to illegal labour practices
such as "forced debt labour".
Both the social security plan and the labour market in the russian
federation were strongly affected by perestroika and the transition to
a market economy. although since 1991 individual liberties have
increased and great sectors of the economy have been stimulated, with
the advance of privatisation and the decrease of state controls, the
coverage of the social protection system has greatly declined. The
universal protection of social policies began moving towards policies
with regional and focused approaches. simultaneously, more of the
country's goods and services, which were formerly public, became
privatised. It is important to highlight that the social protection system
of the soviet economy was based on the requirement that all adult
members of the family participate in the labour market (foley, 1997).
During the financial crisis of 1998, pension payments and other social
benefits for many citizens were suspended, and programs supporting
education and medical aid were cut, which increased inequality and
had a negative impact on public health (Tchetvernina, moscovskaya,
soboleva, & stepantchikova, 2001).
an Ilo study of child labour in moscow in 2001 estimated that
there were 30,000 to 50,000 children working in the streets, some of
them in prostitution and criminal activities. (Ilo, 2002).
migration is an important topic in russian working life. Women
emigrate out of russia through the complex international
mechanisms created in recent decades for sexual and labour
exploitation. on the other hand, this workforce flow has created a
deficit of semi-qualified workers, which threatens economic growth.
accordingly, policies have been put in place to encourage the
immigration of workers from former neighbouring soviet republics,
and to regulate the estimated 5 to 15 million illegal immigrant
workers present in russia (Ilo, 2007).
The new labour Code, in effect since 2002, has furthered russia's
transition from its soviet days with its labour protection laws into a more
flexible hiring system meant to create greater market mobility. Besides
allowing part-time jobs and jobs for short-term periods, it has allowed
employers greater freedom to dismiss workers. In addition, the Work Code
allows employers to temporarily revoke benefits from workers, for reasons
such as "technological or organisation changes" or "production needs".
The soviet regime regarding maternity and the raising of children has
resulted in an increase of female poverty, sexual exploitation, and greatly
increased migration (serebriakova, 2007).
The most important labour organisation is the federation of the
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