Problems of legal regulation and organization of rotational work in the northern regions

Shishulina Tat'yana Petrovna ORCID: 0000-0001-9977-496X PhD in Law Associate Professor; Department of DPR; Russian State Vocational Pedagogical University 620012, Russia, Sverdlovsk region, Yekaterinburg, Kuznetsova str., 9/2, sq. 66 zvezdochka.76@inbox.ru Other publications by this author

1. Introduction

The provision of human resources in the context of the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (hereinafter – the Russian Arctic) is an important component of strategic planning that requires special attention, given the negative migration trends manifested in the outflow of population from this region. One of the potential tools for changing this dynamics can be the introduction of a shift labor system, which is actively used in mining in the Arctic zone. However, despite the widespread use of this method, its impact on the development of the northern territories requires more detailed analysis and study.

In addition, it is worth paying attention not only to the quantitative aspect of human resources, but also to their quality. The development of human capital, including advanced training and educational programs, is an essential condition for ensuring sustainable economic development in the Russian Arctic and the Far North regions and areas equated to them (hereinafter referred to as the RCS).

While this method helps to unlock the economic potential of these territories and redistribute income ^[1], it also carries a number of challenges and negative consequences, including social and health problems, as well as an increase in the cost of living and unemployment ^[2].

The issues of legal regulation and organization of the shift method of work in the northern regions are among those that have been sufficiently developed in the science of labor law. The authors of research in this area were V.V. Glazyrin, B.Ya. Rozin, A.I. Ivanov. M.L. Zakharov, K.D. Krylov, N.V. Khaldeeva, L.V. Zaitseva made a certain contribution to the study of these issues. In recent years, N.A. Volgin, S.M. Baimurzina, A.A. Shestakova, and others have paid attention to the shift method of work, as a whole, and certain aspects of labor regulation and organization in the Arctic zone, the regions of the Far North and areas equated to them.

However, it should be noted that the interest in the study of the watch method is expanding beyond the technical and economic aspects, also covering the social, psychological and legal aspects of its application ^[3].

Today, there is a need for an in-depth analysis of the impact of this method on public relations, the health of workers and their social adaptation, as well as the legal regulation of remuneration and working conditions. Such a multidisciplinary approach to the study of the watch method will allow us to better understand its impact on the economy and society as a whole, as well as develop effective management strategies to minimize negative consequences and maximize its potential benefits ^[4].

2. The main part

Currently, there is an evolution of approaches to managing shift migration in the Russian Arctic and the Russian Federation. This process has ceased to be perceived solely as an organizational form of employment, but is considered as part of a territorial development strategy aimed at "settling" the Arctic. In this context, shift work not only attracts and retains the population in the North, but also represents a tool for transforming the economic landscape.

The study, covering the period from May to August 2022, and including a survey of workers employed on shift schedules at large Arctic enterprises, reflects these changes in approaches.

The survey, which was attended by 50 respondents, allowed us to collect information about the willingness to reconsider ideas about the regions of the Russian Arctic and the RKS as places for permanent residence and work, as well as about the perception of shift work and readiness to replace it with permanent employment ^[5].

The study showed that approximately 47% of respondents are ready to switch from a shift schedule to permanent employment, especially for workers living within the region and working on a shift basis. Such results, reflected in Figure 1, indicate a trend towards changing attitudes towards forms of employment and the desire for sustainable living and work in the regions.

Figure 1 - Distribution of respondents' responses on the readiness to switch from a shift method to a permanent method of work, in general (a), and by types of shift (b).

Currently, shift migration management is a complex and multilevel process that covers both federal and regional levels of government. At the same time, an important aspect is not only the management of migration itself, but also the transformation of this phenomenon into a source of human resources for the development of the RCS economy.

One of the key tasks in this process is to coordinate the actions of all levels of management in order to ensure an effective transition from a shift work model to permanent residence and employment in the Arctic regions. Solving this problem requires the development and implementation of new management tools and methods that can encourage employees to make decisions about permanent life and work in these regions. In addition, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the existing motivational factors influencing the choice of shift work, as well as develop strategies to optimize and strengthen them.

The fundamental norms and principles of the shift method of work are fixed at the federal level, where the management of shift migration is carried out through such regulations as:

- The Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Articles 107, 110 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; Chapter 47 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; part 1 of Article 297 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, Article 298 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, Article 299 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, Article 300 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, Article 301 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation; Article 302 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation "Guarantees and compensation to persons working in shifts"), defining shift work within the framework of labor relations);

- The Tax Code of the Russian Federation dated 07/31/1998 No. 146-FZ (Article 264), which establishes the conditions and procedure for taxation of expenses for the maintenance of shift and temporary settlements, including housing and communal and social facilities;

- Federal laws that amend the main provisions of the Labor and Tax Codes of the Russian Federation;

- Resolutions of the Government of the Russian Federation (Temporary rules of shift work, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 04/28/2020 No. 601; Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated February 3, 2005 No. 51 "On the amount and procedure for paying allowances for shift work to employees of Federal State bodies and Federal State Institutions" (with amendments and additions); Resolution of the State Committee of Labor of the USSR, VTSPS, Ministry of Health of the USSR dated 12/31/1987 No. 794/33-82 "On approval of the basic provisions on the shift method of work organization");

- Federal projects and programs aimed at attracting labor resources to the regions of the Russian Arctic and the Far East ("Arctic Challenge" ^[6] – a large-scale federal program for the targeted attraction of highly qualified specialists and managers to the cities of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation; A program to increase labor mobility ^[7], approved by Order of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection No. 343n of the Russian Federation dated 06/04/2015 and represents a set of requirements for the content of the regional program for increasing labor mobility);

- Letters and methodological recommendations from federal executive authorities (for example, Letter No. 77/10-18059-0B/18-1299 from the State Labor Inspectorate in Moscow dated 05/19/2020; letter No. 03-04-06-02/22 from the Department of Tax and Customs and Tariff Policy of the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation dated February 22, 2008), explanatory and clarifying the current norms, in part regulation of the shift method of work.

The nomenclature of federal legal acts aimed at regulating the issues of shift migration, despite its vastness, does not provide effective management of this process ^[8]. In our opinion, there is a lack and ambiguity in the existing regulatory legal acts in ensuring effective control. And the lack of clearly defined goals and a single document systematizing federal standards leads to disagreements and uncertainty in the implementation of the watch policy at various levels of management, which in turn creates significant legal gaps, especially in the field of labor protection, the organization of shift camps and providing social guarantees for employees ^[9].

State guarantees and compensations for persons working in the Far North and areas equated to them are established by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, the Law of the Russian Federation dated 02/19/1993 No. 4520-1 "On State Guarantees and Compensations for persons working and living in the Far North and areas equated to them", other federal laws and other regulatory legal acts of the Russian Federation. Additional guarantees and compensations to these persons may be established by laws and other regulatory legal acts of the subjects of the Russian Federation, regulatory legal acts of local governments, collective agreements, agreements, local regulations, based on the financial capabilities of the relevant subjects of the Russian Federation, local governments and employers (Article 313 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

At the same time, the provision of guarantees and compensation for work in the RCS to employees who perform shift work has its own specifics.

With the intraregional shift method, i.e. when employees live and work in these areas, they are fully covered by the guarantees and compensations established for persons working in the Far North and equivalent areas (Chapter 50 of the Labor Code). The situation is different with the interregional shift method, when employees permanently reside outside the regions of the North, but regularly travel to work in these areas.

Since the impact of extreme natural and climatic factors on a person in this case is less than with permanent residence in the North, these workers are provided only with separate guarantees and compensation for work in the North, namely percentage wage allowances and additional vacations, in accordance with the procedure and conditions provided for persons permanently working in these areas. districts and localities. Their size is differentiated for 2 groups of districts: the districts of the Far North and the areas equated to them ^[10].

The amount and procedure for paying allowances for shift work at enterprises are established by a collective agreement, a local regulatory act adopted taking into account the opinion of the elected body of the primary trade union organization, an employment contract (Article 302 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation).

In corporate-level documents, such as collective agreements or internal company regulations provided for by the provisions of the organization of shift work, organizations may include additional compensatory measures and preferences for shift workers (for example, reimbursement of transportation costs from the place of residence to the place of collection and back, provision of financial assistance, the possibility of undergoing sanatorium treatment and so on).

At the regional level, decisions can be made by senior officials and government structures of the subjects of the Federation, which specify the application of federal standards in the relevant regions. Examples of such regional regulations are: Resolution of the Governor of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District dated 04/06/1999 No. 262 on approval of the form of district state statistical observation of the number of shift workers; Law of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug dated January 27, 2000 No. 06-OZ "On the shift method of Work in the Territory of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug" or the Law of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug dated November 5, 1999 No. 199-OZ "On the shift method of work on the territory of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug".

But not all regions where the shift method of work is used have similar regional legal acts. A unified initiative on norm-setting among the regions was undertaken in 2020, in connection with the aggravation of the epidemiological situation in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This initiative was related to the publication of Temporary Rules of Shift Work, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated 04/28/2020 No. 601, which obliged all regions to implement this labor organization procedure.

At the level of the regional administration, it becomes possible to detail and specify the stimulating factors that influence the decision of workers employed on a shift basis to switch to a permanent form of employment. The results of the analysis of the opinions of shift workers (Figure 2) also confirm this idea, highlighting state social programs and benefits, including housing subsidies and compensation for relocation costs, as key factors specific to the regional level of management.

Figure 2 - Distribution of respondents' assessments of the attractiveness of state social benefits and preferences regarding the change of working hours from shift to permanent.

It is necessary that at the level of regional management strategies aimed at creating preferential opportunities for the local population in matters of recruitment to the shift labor system be developed and implemented.

Based on this, there is a need to ensure the effective functioning of their implementation with the help of relevant regional government bodies. Otherwise, this may lead to low employment of the local population in the field of shift work, compared with migrant workers from other regions of the country. Take, for example, the Chukotka Autonomous District, where priority selection of local residents for shift work was introduced. As a result, the number of employees working under the shift system exceeds the number of unemployed in the Chukotka Autonomous District by 4.5 times ^[11].

Our research shows that for workers employed on an inter-regional shift, employment support programs are the most attractive options for moving to a permanent job (Figure 3), which can be explained by the need to ensure the employment of the whole family when moving to a new region and ensuring job stability.

Figure 3 - Distribution of respondents' estimates by type of shift according to the attractiveness of state social benefits and preferences regarding the change of working hours from shift to permanent.

There is some misunderstanding about the reimbursement of relocation costs to the RCS: the provision on this benefit is quite generally formulated for all categories of employees involved in these places, but leaves many questions about shift workers who switch to permanent jobs. For example, in the Komi Republic, in order to attract and employ specialists, employers carry out the following support measures:

- payment of the cost of transportation costs for moving to the place of work;

- payment of expenses related to the transportation of personal property;

- payment of a one-time settlement allowance;

- payment for the rental or rental of residential premises;

- payment to an employee who has no work experience;

- salary allowances for work in the Far North and equivalent areas in the amount of up to 80% of the official salary established by the employer.

Although this approach contributes to the universality of conditions for all specialists arriving in the region, it does not sufficiently take into account intraregional mobility (when employees live in the same region, but in different municipalities), and does not stimulate interregional shift work as a motivation factor for moving to less favorable climatic conditions. Most benefits are available without changing the work schedule, which reduces their attractiveness for shift workers.

At the municipal level, it is possible to influence the working conditions according to the shift scheme through the establishment of additional incentives, guarantees and refunds (for example, the Decision of the Council of Deputies of the City of Kirovsk dated 04/29/2009 No. 28 "On approval of the Regulations on Guarantees and Compensations for persons working in organizations funded from the budget of the city of Kirovsk").

However, in practice, the effectiveness of such measures remains low. At the same time, measures taken by the municipality to improve urban infrastructure and ensure access to municipal services are of key importance for workers employed on a shift basis. This includes the development of kindergartens, schools, improved health care and other measures that contribute to a comfortable life and work for residents (see Figures 4, 5).

At the corporate level, there is a significant arsenal of tools designed to manage shift migration, which is more pronounced in comparison with the municipal level. This circumstance is mainly due to factors of the internal organization of the enterprise, where, within the framework of corporate regulations, such as collective agreements and regulations on shift work, specific work procedures are established, as well as a system of compensation payments and social guarantees is being built to ensure employees performing shift work in a specific organization.

Figure 4 - Distribution of respondents' responses to assess the impact of factors of the "urban environment" regarding the change of working hours from shift to permanent.

Figure 5 - Distribution of respondents' responses to assess the impact of factors of the "urban environment" regarding the change of working hours from shift to permanent in the context of types of shifts.

Thus, on the basis of Article 302 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, employees traveling to perform shift work in the Far North and equivalent areas from other (non-northern) areas are not entitled to receive compensation for the cost of travel and baggage transportation to and from the place of vacation use, unless otherwise provided It is provided for by the collective agreement, local regulations adopted taking into account the opinion of the elected bodies of primary trade union organizations, and employment contracts.

In the face of strong competition for staff, large companies are expanding their corporate social security, guarantees and compensation programs to include shift workers and, providing them with similar benefits to permanent employees. This approach, however, reduces the stimulating effect of shift work in the context of achieving strategic goals.

In this regard, there is a need for deeper differentiation of corporate social programs for permanent employees, depending on their place of work – within one region or between regions. This is especially true if employers are aiming to turn shift work into permanent work.

The results of surveys among shift workers confirm the importance of corporate social programs when deciding on a change of work schedule, especially for those who work intraregional (Figure 6).

Figure 6 - Distribution of respondents' responses according to the degree of influence of different-level conditions on the motivation for changing the work regime in the context of types of shifts.

Corporate social programs include benefits in the field of housing, medical care, opportunities for sanatorium treatment, as well as a variety of leisure and financial support programs. Interestingly, the percentage distribution of ratings between employees working on a shift system both within the region and between regions is almost the same, which indicates the importance of these programs for all employees regardless of their place of work (Figures 7, 8).

Figure 7 - Distribution of respondents' answers to the question of assessing the attractiveness of types of corporate social benefits and preferences regarding the change of working hours from shift to permanent.

Figure 8 - Distribution of respondents' answers to the question of assessing the attractiveness of types of corporate social benefits and preferences regarding the change of working hours from shift to permanent in the context of types of shifts.

The discovered imbalance in the management of shift migration at various levels puts forward the need for the development and implementation of a special federal regulatory act to regulate this type of labor organization. This act should take into account a variety of scenarios for the application of the shift method of work, taking into account the specifics of each company and in accordance with the main legislative acts such as the Labor Code, Tax Code, Civil Code, Urban Planning Code, as well as the provisions of Rostechnadzor and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.

This normative document should establish a unified strategy for managing shift work at all levels of management, defining mechanisms and management tools in the field, and principles for differentiating approaches to different types of shifts. In addition, it should provide a basis for the transition from shift to permanent employment in regions with low rates of labor activity and mobility, such as the Far East and the Arctic.

For such regions, special regulatory rules are needed to facilitate the transformation of the watch into a source of personnel for the local labor market. One of the proposed solutions is the introduction of a new type of watch – the "Arctic Intraregional Watch".

The introduction of the idea of an "Arctic Intraregional Watch" is an innovative approach to labor organization, which is aimed at attracting workers from different places to live and work permanently in Arctic cities. These workers continue to work on a shift basis in remote and less studied territories of the Russian Arctic, which contributes to an increase in the number of workers employed on shift within this region.

The proposed new approach provides a solution to several problems. In particular, it contributes to the better adaptation of workers to the northern conditions. In addition, it prevents social problems associated with the lack of affiliation of shift workers to the local community. It also improves the economic situation of the region due to additional tax revenues and optimization of companies' expenses for the maintenance of shift workers.

The management mechanism of this new form of work should be part of a state policy that is coordinated at all levels of government - from federal to corporate.

3. Conclusions

The conducted research allows us to conclude that it is necessary to propose measures to solve problems related to the legal regulation and organization of the shift method of work in the northern regions, namely:

1. It is necessary to establish a federal body that will deal with the accounting and classification of shift workers and Arctic base cities. His responsibilities will include developing a labor marketing strategy to attract workers to this category, as well as identifying jobs and distributing them to Arctic base cities as a place of permanent residence.

2. At the regional level, it is necessary to provide housing and relocation support for all employees. And at the municipal level, conditions should be created to meet the leisure and sports needs of shift workers, ensuring comfortable living through the improvement of the urban environment.

3. It is important to involve corporate structures in cooperation with municipalities to provide preferential services in the field of leisure and sports, as well as the implementation of joint projects to develop the city's infrastructure, within the framework of corporate social responsibility.

The general scheme of shift migration management for the Russian Arctic, based on coordination between levels of government, is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9 is a diagram of the mechanism of inter-level interaction and management of the Arctic intraregional watch.

Further investigation of this issue involves the creation of specific tools and mechanisms applicable at each level of management.