No. 2, 2010
Georgy Kiradiyev
,
Chairman of the Council of the International Association of Trade Union Organizations of LUKOIL
THE FACETS OF SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP
Social projects in the areas where the Company operates are the focus of LUKOIL’s trade union organizations
In the areas where the LUKOIL Group of companies operates, we have in recent years seen a rise in social and economic responsibility on the part of local authorities and the Company's management and trade unions, especially under the conditions of the world economic crisis. Such trilateral collaboration allows us to successfully resolve various social problems of not only our workers, but of the population as a whole.
An effective model of collaboration
In Russia, there are many company towns where a considerable part of the working population is completely oriented toward serving one particular manufacturer. This has a definite effect on how the residents are employed and influences their infrastructure and social problems. In the many company towns where LUKOIL operates, there is much that is common in the way the local authorities, business, and trade unions interact.
Typical of this was the approach to a topic raised in the LUKOIL-Western Siberia amalgamated trade union organization. Most of the Company's executives are trade union members, deputies in city and regional councils, and take a direct part in developing citywide programs aimed at improving people's living conditions - not just for company employees, but for the entire population.
Thanks to the coordinated efforts of these council members and local government agencies, the maximum number of jobs and the highest possible pay were secured for people employed in the municipal sphere. At the same time, educational and retraining courses were organized. Notices of job vacancies at oilfields and refineries were filed with employment centers every week. A competition for local entrepreneurs was held jointly with city officials, with the winners receiving a cash prize toward opening their own businesses.
In the LUKOIL-PERM amalgamated trade union organization, a leading role is assigned to working together with trilateral commissions of municipal bodies. In addition, great importance is attached to participating in public events held by political parties, and to having a presence in the parties' governing bodies. This includes taking part in events held by municipal government agencies (e.g., citywide and regional sports competitions, and ceremonies devoted to national and local holidays). And of course, nothing can take the place of personal meetings with the heads of municipal bodies and government experts.
Specific mechanisms of collaboration include trilateral agreements (from the developmental stage through implementation and assessment), organizing competitions of cultural and social projects (with the chair of a union organization and his deputies among the company's contest commission), and extending material (charitable) assistance to municipalities and municipal establishments (e.g., kindergartens, schools, medical institutions, and community centers) from trade union coffers to solve specific problems.
Social partnership on a new scale
At LUKOIL-Komi in Usinsk, special notice has been taken of the general interest in and meticulous organizing of many events of importance to the city that have received a favorable response.
A territorial trilateral commission on the regulation of social and labor relations has had a positive effect on the situation in the city. The commission's working plan calls for a variety of matters to be discussed at its sessions. These include the development of social partnership; coming up with a territory-wide agreement on social and economic issues; collaboration between the city's administration, labor exchange, and employers to create jobs for people having difficulty in finding work; and the efforts of an interagency commission on labor safety.
The trade union organization regularly informs company officials as to employees' feelings on new initiatives and projects for company development; some receive the workers' wholehearted support, some do not. In 2009, the union conducted a huge informational campaign that basically calmed people's alarming fears of cutbacks in pay, the workforce, and employee benefits. Company executives and urban administration officials set a good example by participating at least once a week in socially relevant joint events at which there is constructive dialogue with the city's residents.
Within the scope of constructive dialogue
Collaboration between the LUKOIL-Volgogradneftegaz administration, amalgamated trade union organization, and Volgograd's municipal government covers a multitude of social issues: the employment and pay levels of the company's workforce, labor safety and social security, and organizing recreation and leisure time. The mutual ties needed along these lines have been established among them, largely as a result of LUKOIL-Volgogradneftegaz representatives being elected to the executive, regional legislative, and municipal branches of government by a wide margin.
The company's directors and union officials work in close collaboration with local government bodies, participating in the life of the city and the region as a whole. The company makes great efforts to help solve issues associated directly with life in nearby towns and villages. Such work includes corporate and financial assistance to organizations and providing hardware for emergency response operations.
One effective form of collaboration between LUKOIL-Ukhtaneftepererabotka, its trade union organization, and the Ukhta city administration and heads of municipal bodies is their Agreement on Cooperation, concluded within the scope a public-private partnership accords. It includes measures for mutually beneficial collaboration, and for corporate and charitable assistance to the city's budgetary organizations.
Based on the experience gained from such collaboration, the city has adopted a program of anticrisis measures aimed at stabilizing and providing for the sustainable growth of its economy, and at supporting its residents under conditions of the current financial and economic crisis. The program implementation commission includes LUKOIL-Ukhtaneftepererabotka General Director Igor Fedorinov. The program contains the following measures: support for firms of the transport infrastructure and construction industry; ensuring the operation of the housing and public utilities sector; support for agriculture, and for small and medium-sized businesses; improved efficiency in providing employment for the population; and balancing the labor market on the territory of the city.
It should also be mentioned that in company towns, special emphasis is placed on working with young people. The town of Kstovo's experience is particularly good in this regard. LUKOIL-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez seriously follows a policy of hiring young people and guarantees their education and development, the effective use of their potential, and the planning of their future career growth. To carry out LUKOIL policy in this area, the company has created a committee for working with young people. Kstovo Petroleum Technical School and Nizhny Novgorod State Technical University are the main sources for keeping the ranks of skilled young workers full. Yet another is the Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, where LUKOIL-Nizhegorodnefteorgsintez is currently funding the education of 25 students.
For trade union organizations and their leaders, it is important to have control over any situation, to remain very well informed, and to take maximum advantage of business collaboration and all types of contacts at the municipal level. This includes active efforts within trilateral commissions for managing social and labor relations, along with broad reliance on popular publications, the local press, and other mass media.
It is even more important to use every available opportunity at the company level: taking part in production meetings and sessions of the board of directors, and extending the practice of holding regular joint meetings of the trade union council leader and general director deputies with local worker teams. The principle of a two-way flow of information must be observed: the company management has to know how the workers are living and performing, and the workers themselves have to know what is being done to lower social tensions at company workplaces.
Such tactics allow trade union organizations to plan their actions, take preventative steps, and maintain worker spirit and unity.
