The State Duma of the Russian Federation approved in the 1st reading amendments to the labor code on the forms of work with personnel in the power and heat supply industry

The State Duma of the Russian Federation approved in its first reading the draft Federal Law No. 953586−7 “On Amendments to the Labor Code of the RussiCn Federation in terms of establishing the specifics of labor regulation of workers in the field of industrial safety, the safety of hydraulic structures, in the electric power industry and in the field of heat supply”.

The document was presented by State Secretary - Deputy Minister of Energy Anastasia Bondarenko.

According to the rules of technological functioning of power systems, owners of power facilities and entities of operational dispatch control (ODC) should organize work on preparing workers of certain categories to perform professional functions on specific equipment. The Ministry of Energy considers it the duty of the employer to carry out “mandatory forms of work with personnel, to constantly maintain and increase its level of knowledge, skills,” which is implemented to ensure reliable and uninterrupted electricity supply to consumers, and to reduce the level of technological violations.

The legislative draft provides for the complex use of all forms of testing and maintaining the knowledge, skills and abilities of technological personnel: an independent assessment of qualifications, certification on safety issues, training and confirmation of readiness for work.

“Together, they do not replace each other, but form a multi-level system of personnel training and ensuring competence. At the same time, to apply an independent assessment of qualifications while preserving the industry-wide system of working with personnel, it is proposed to establish for their respective employees the specifics of their labor regulation in the Labor Code of the Russian Federation, supplementing it with a new article ”,  explained Anastasia Bondarenko.

“In order to avoid a double burden on workers and employers, the bill provides for the possibility of combining knowledge testing procedures, labor protection rules held in organizations' commissions, and labor safety and safety certifications held in commissions of federal state energy supervision bodies”, the Ministry of Energy noted.