You Have Opportunity To Get A Profession But What About Further Employment?

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.