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At federal level, the industry agreement has been adopted which sets additional obligations and automatically extends to companies in Russia's agricultural industry. To refuse to join the agreement, a well-grounded written refusal should be filed with the Russian Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (the 'Ministry of Labour') by 14 July 2018.
On 15 June 2017, Rossiyskaya Gazeta published a Letter of the Ministry of Labour with a proposal to join the Federal Agricultural Industry Agreement for 2018-2020 (the 'Agreement').
The Agreement is binding on:
Below we set out some of the provisions of the Agreement which impose additional obligations on employers:
o an increased night differential shall be set of at least 25% of the tariff rate/salary (clause 5.5);
For companies which did not play a part in the Agreement being concluded (i.e. those which are not members of the Union of employers and did not authorise it to enter into the Agreement), the only option for refusing to join is to file a well-grounded written refusal with the Ministry of Labour, accompanied by the minutes of the discussions with the elective body of the primary trade union organisation which represents the company's employees (article 48(8) of the Russian Labour Code).
We recommend considering whether it is prudent to join the Agreement, and, if the decision is taken to refuse to join, filing a well-grounded written refusal with the Ministry of Labour. The time period for filing a well-grounded refusal is 30 calendar days after the agreement is published. To rule out disputes over whether the refusal to join the agreement was filed in due time, we recommend that you ensure that the refusal is filed with the Ministry of Labour on or before 14 July 2018.
If such well-grounded refusal is filed with the Ministry of Labour later than the specified deadline, the employees will have the right to claim (including through the court) that guarantees, compensations and benefits be granted to them in accordance with the Agreement. Labour inspectorates will have grounds to hold the company administratively liable for not complying with the Agreement.
Pepeliaev Group's lawyers will readily provide the necessary legal support when the documents are prepared which are required to refuse to join the Agreement, and on any other issues which relate to the Agreement being in effect.