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Minister Zurabov Asks for Employment Benefits
Health and Social Development Minister Mikhail Zurabov has forwarded an initiative for the creation of a “central reserve” of grants for regions to improve local labor markets. The Federal Labor and Employment Service (Rostrud) thinks that a reserve of 3-5 billion rubles would permit the government to respond more promptly to the restructuring of industry in the regions that has led to localized spikes in unemployment levels.
Zurabov spoke at a meeting yesterday of the government commission on cooperation between the federal center and the regions on the creation of a supplemental reserve for “encouragement grants.” He also suggested the creation of a reserve to improve subvention in the event of urgent situations related to mass layoffs because of industrial restructuring. “In spite of the fall in the general level of unemployment,” he said, “mass unemployment still occurs in individual regions because of the restructuring of industry, as a result of which pockets of tension arise on the labor market, which Rostrud could react to, if there were a reserve.”
At the beginning of this year, a number of functions were transferred to the regions. Now the regions themselves are responsible for employment and unemployment aid, retraining, relocation and other labor issues. Supervision of those services and determination of the size of unemployment benefits remain a federal responsibility. This year, 34 billion rubles will be spent on those purposes.
It is still too soon to say how the government will respond to the minister's proposals. The Finance Ministry told Kommersant yesterday that “Mr. Zurabov's wishes require further development.” Analysts are skeptical of the possibilities of new grants.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Apr. 17, 2007
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