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SEAFARERS' UNION OF RUSSIA
A NON-UNIONIZED SEAFARER
IS AN UNPROTECTED SEAFARER
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The Svetlana Medvedeva case will be heard in the Supreme Court of Russia on 24 July, 2017. Svetlana Medvedeva has failed her attempts to undergo the navigation practice in Samara River Passenger Company (SRPP) within three years. The reason is that the work of motorman-helmsman is recognized as “harmful to women” and that's why she didn't pass her practice.
« Many things have been changed since 2016: I had switched a job and at now I'm a captain. In an addition I completed the advanced engineer courses for air-cushion craft with engine power over 110 kW. It gives me a right to get an engineer certificate for the working on ships of the first group. I need to undergo the motorman' practice as you know before to be become a good engineer you should work in a motorman position,” Svetlana Medvedeva complains. “As a result I and my representatives passed the appeal to the Russian Supreme Court. It went seriously into the question and evoked my case. There is a chance to a positive outcome. If the appeal be refused, we would go to the Constitutional Court.”
As the List of Heavy Work and Work in Harmful or Dangerous Conditions in which the Employment of Women is Prohibited acts in Russia, women have issues during their employment. Referring to their health care the List limits women's rights to work in harmful and/or in dangerous working conditions. “It appears that the state allows women to receive education on the profession in the List, but after getting a diploma they can't catch a job. Certainly according to the document, women can't be put in the harmful or dangerous conditions of work unless an employer provides safety working conditions. If there is simply way to hire a man on that position, who will come to the additional expenses?” - says the Seafarers' Union of Russia (SUR). Svetlana Medvedeva has to face such an unfairness by her own experience. When Svetlana got a refuse in her training, she decided to fight for her rights and she sent a letter to the Internet reception of the Russian President. Her letter had been addressed to the Labour Ministry of Russia. The department made it clear that woman can be employed on the work included in the List of harmful work, if an employer would make safety working conditions confirmed by workplace assessment. Medvedeva appealed to the court to place SRPP under the obligation to make the working conditions needed for women. However district and regional courts took the employer's side and denied her claim. Medvedeva appealed to the SUR for help in 2012 and made a complaint to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Her case was considered in March 2016. The members of the committee took the Svetlana's side and brought a range of recommendations to the Russian government as a state member of the UN. But this step didn’t meet any reaction from the employer and the government.
Svetlana didn't intent to give up. Together with the SUR she were fighting for her right to labour and her self-realization in chosen profession. At the 8th SUR's Congress the union approved the resolution titled On Violation of Women's Right to Labour in Chosen Occupation and Profession and Possibility of Women's Employment as Crew Members of River and Marine Fleet. The resolution laid the foundation for the SUR's address to the Russian Ministry of Labour and to the Chairman of the Government Dmitry Medvedev. An answer has come soon. The Labour Ministry gave an assurance that the work on updating the List and reducing the number of works in which restricted the using the women's labour has yet been starting. According to the ministry's letter “given the amendments to modern technology processing and new changes in social and hygienic conditions of work in a range of profession” the Labour Ministry has started the “collection and handling of proposals from the parties of the social partnership and experts on question of the List updating.” As the ministry assured, the SUR's offers would be taken into consideration.
It emerged later that on 8 March 2017 Dmitry Medvedev approved the National Strategy of Actions in the Interest of Women 2017-2022. It included the questions arised by the SUR. Of course, this news is good but not enough. According to the Labour Ministry's statement, by 2022 there will be created conditions for reducing amount of jobs with hazardous and/or dangerous conditions of work in which employed women, and for closing the gap between men's and women's payments. There is no word about any specific measure or promised review of ill-fated List. Looks like, women should rely on extremely unclear definition on “creation of conditions” until 2022 and hope that this measure will assist them to hire on ships on an equality with men. And before that time rather to increase their experience and develop career women should stay on shore.
“The only safe guess is that the National Strategy in the Interests of Women adopted by Dmitry Medvedev doesn't have any impact on me. The problems in practical training and employment of women didn't disappear anywhere,” says Svetlana Medvedeva.
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