For the introduction of a four-day work week in Russia, it is necessary to conduct special studies. This was stated by the Commissioner for Human Rights Tatyana Moskalkova.

“To answer this question, it is necessary to conduct monitoring studies. But I’m not sure that this idea can be implemented today without special research, ”RIA Novosti quotes Moskalkova.

At the moment, Russia has a five-day, 40-hour work week. Earlier, on September 11, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin announced that the State Duma would discuss the transition to four working days.

“It is possible in the near future to hold discussions with all parties to social partnership (government, trade unions and employers) on the development of the labor legislation of the Russian Federation, improving the working conditions of citizens of our country, increasing the amount of paid free time and, based on the results of the discussion, prepare relevant bills,” he noted .

Volodin explained that working hours can be reduced as a result of robotization and informatization. According to him, developed countries are already moving in this direction and there are various options for implementing such an idea - both switching to a four-day week and reducing working hours every day.

“It is very likely that the future is a four-day week”

Recall that a broad discussion of the idea of ​​a four-day work week began after a speech by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at the International Labor Conference in Geneva in early June. Then the head of the Cabinet admitted that in the future a four-day schedule will be established.

“It is very likely that the future lies with the four-day working week as the basis of the social and labor contract,” he said.

After this statement, the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center conducted a sociological poll, according to which almost half of the Russians opposed this idea, and only 29% of the respondents supported it. 67% of respondents felt that a reduction in their work week would lead to a decline in production, while 53% fear that prices will rise and wages will fall.

“The prospect of a radical - by 20% - reduction in the working week is more likely to scare than attract Russians. Fears are mainly associated with a likely reduction in income, which is critical primarily for the poorest and most vulnerable segments of the population - pensioners and villagers, ”commented the results of the study, the head of the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center Valery Fedorov.

  • Dmitry Medvedev
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Changes in labor law

The idea of ​​reducing the working week initially suggests that the income of the working population will not be reduced. It is about increasing productivity, which eliminates the need to work extra hours.

“This should be accompanied by an increase in labor productivity on the one hand, when it comes to a full-time work week, and, of course, the preservation of the wages that are available,” Medvedev emphasized.

Subsequently, two months after the VTsIOM survey, a sociological study of the Superjob job search service showed that almost 50% of Russians support a decrease in working hours.

“Almost every second respondent (49%) supports the prime minister’s initiative, 31% against the reduction of the working week. Every fifth (20%) found it difficult to answer, ”TASS quotes the results of the survey.

Then, again returning to this topic, Medvedev noted the need for changes in labor legislation.

“Obviously, we also need to think about changes in the labor legislation for the future, bearing in mind various forms of labor regulation, including the so-called remote work and flexible work schedule, and also, in the future, maybe the transition to a four-day work week” - said the head of government.

Medvedev stressed that with a shorter working week, it is necessary that the employer receive productivity growth, and that employees keep the salaries that they have.

The Minister for Economic Development of Russia Maxim Oreshkin also spoke about the conditions for the transition to a four-day working week. On the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, he noted that an increase in labor productivity and the achievement of higher incomes of the population are necessary.

In turn, the head of the Ministry of Labor, Maxim Topilin, considers the idea of ​​switching to a four-day week an “abstraction”.

“History is not fast ... there are no such precedents for the country to switch to 4 days ... This is a certain prospect. A reduced number of working hours, not a 40-hour week, somewhere around 35-36 hours, is, in the future we can talk. Four-day period is such an abstraction, ”the minister said.