THE CONCEPT OF THE FNPR YOUTH POLICY

The social and economic crisis in Russia, which led to dramatic falling in the living standard of the population, and general worsening of labour conditions and population employment have not bypassed a negative influence on youth. Along with general problems issues concerning young generation were clearly identified. The problems are as follows: opportunity reduction of getting free-of-charge vocational training, employment difficulties in getting a first workplace, a high rate of unemployment, fall in possibilities for family creation, bad conditions for motherhood and non full-value cultural development. Consequences of these and other problems have caused a growth of dangerous social vices among young people: criminality, drug addiction, prostitution, prestige fall of fair productive labour, employment criminalization.

Position of young generation is also worsened by its weak organization. At the present time there is no mass youth organization which is really be able to defend its vital interests, social and labour rights. Not all trade union organizations conduct regular and targeted work with youth. This results in weak inflow of new trade union members and complicates the process of trade unionist’s rejuvenation. The concept of the FNPR youth policy is called for to change the offered situation.

The IV FNPR Congress set the task to increase the effectiveness of trade union work on protection social and economic interests of youth, more active involving of youth in union membership. The implementation of the plan of the IV FNPR Congress decisions includes a unit of youth policy.

1. GENERAL STATEMENTS

1.1. The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia works out and conducts its youth policy based on the rights provided by the  Constitution of the Russian Federation,  the Federal law "On trade unions, their rights and guarantees of their activities", "Thebasicdirectionsofthe national youthpolicyintheRussianFederation ", international conventions and standards, agreements and obligations of Russia and also according to the requirements of the Constitution and program documents of the Federation.

1.2. The main task of the FNPR youth policy is to make the Federation and its affiliates be active in the protection of social and economic rights of working and studying young people, involve youth in trade union membership, prepare and reinforce trade union activists by young people.

1.3. According to these purposes the main issues of union organizations in the realization of the youth policy are:

-  general coordination of the Federation and its affiliates activities in the following spheres:

-  protection of social, economic and labour interests of youth,  assistance in the providing  legislative guarantees to rights to study and work, housing right, participation in the decision-making process at a workplace, right for decent salary, adequate recreation and leisure;

-  assistance in involving youth into the trade-union activity and membership, active preparing, providing and reinforcing union activists among young generation, support in self-organizing of youth in order to realize its socially useful initiatives and interests, training young members to be independently and initiatively taking decisions of vital questions;

-  analysis of the  experience of cooperation with youth of the FNPR affiliates, improvement of forms and methods of such work; preservation and development of the social infrastructure of unions which provides service for youth (sanatoriums, sport centers, health and tourist resorts, educational institutions and leisure-time clubs).

1.4. The FNPR youth policy is to involve people at the age from 14 to 35 into the youth policy.  It is necessary to set up youth councils at all union levels of the FNPR structure in order to reach the result. Chairmen of youth councils (commissions) should be considered as personnel reserves of leaders of trade-union organizations. Coordination of activity of youth councils is the mission of the FNPR Youth Council which is formed by trade-union leaders who are under 35 years and recommended by the affiliates, branch union association and federal districts.

1.5. All the activity of the FNPR and its affiliated organizations on youth issues, while maintaining independence and initiative of the trade-union organizations in the decision of specific targets, is subordinated to the general principles and purposes, is incorporated into the system and represents united youth policy.

1.6. The united FNPR youth policy  is carried out on federal, branch, regional and local levels by corresponding elected bodies of trade union organizations, structural units of staff departments, youth councils (commissions) of union organizations, educational and social union institutes in cooperation with the state bodies and interested public organizations.

1.7. Being a part of the international trade union movement, the FNPR carries on the youth policy, using experience of foreign union centers, particularly ICFTU and ILO state-members, and leaning on close cooperation and solidarity of actions with them.

2. THE FEDERAL LEVEL

2.1 Coordination of the FNPR united youth policy is carried out by the FNPR Youth Council. Its composition and statue are stated by the FNPR General Council.

2.2. Work with authorities

The Youth Council in cooperation with main structure units of the FNPR Staff department gathers and analyzes information on draft-laws and executive power decisions regarding youth rights., participates in draft-law preparation process, proposes its own amendments to the current legislation and seeking for its adoptions through the deputies of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly cooperating with trade unions.

While caring on tripartite negotiations and discussing issues with the Russian Federation Government, it is necessary to ensure wider guarantees for young people’s rights, compulsory inclusion of the unit “Work with youth” into the General agreement among the all-Russian association of trade unions, the all-Russian association of employers and the Government exercising tough control over it.

The FNPR intends to participate in elaboration and implementation of the State youth policy. The FNPR also tries to unite joint efforts from the side of legislative authorities, the Russian Federation Government and employers, to maintain and provide free-of-charge qualitative education and vocational training for youth, employment guarantees with a decent level of salary, to create  conditions for strengthening youth health, stimulate a growth of number of young families and their children.

2.3. Work with the FNPR affiliated organizations.

It is impossible to resolve current and future tasks of the youth policy without coordination of the activity of all FNPR affiliates. It should be achieved through:

creation of the FNPR Youth Council and also setting up youth councils in affiliated organizations.;

taking joint union actions of the affiliates with the purpose of protection of youth’s rights;

regular discussion of questions of working process with youth at the sessions of the FNPR Executive committee, holding not less  than one time in two years the all-Russian conferences, forums on youth problems with participation of representatives of all affiliates of the Federation;

introduction of the guaranteed representation of young members not less than 30 percent in all elected trade-union bodies;

election of chairmen of youth councils to the administrative departments of all union structures;

financial support of work of youth councils, creation of the item of expenses in budgets of all trade unions dedicated to the  realization of youth policy;

research, analysis and generalization of specific problems of various categories of youth;

working out and adoption of special programs concerning work with separate categories of working and studying youth, and also programs directed to the solution single, especially acute social and  labor problems of youth;

participation in the international trade-union programs and the actions directed to protection of the rights and interests of youth.

2.4. Propaganda and agitation work

In this sphere the FNPR believes that a main task is to call attention of all groups of society to the problems of youth and union actions aimed at resolving these problems, involving youth in trade union work. One should do the following to achieve the task:

to seek for regular and wide media coverage of union work with youth;

to take effective practical measures on increasing circulation increasing of the central trade union newspaper "Solidarnost";

to continue publishing headings of youth in the "Solidarnost" and in newspapers of all-Russian trade unions and territorial union associations, editing and distributing  special brochures on social, economic and labour rights of youth;

to promote through mass media  best experience of work with youth of certain affiliates of the Federation, youth councils’ activity, young union leaders and activists;

to change the image of trade unions, to make it attractive and prestigious for young people, showing the importance of trade unions for young generation in the workable protection of its social, labour, legal and other interests, directing energy, initiative, ambitions of young people into the constructive way;

to carry out a package of measures directed to wide implementation of electronic mass media in union work;

to create a special unit – “The Youth Council” on the FNPR web site (www.fnpr.ru);

to organize mass social, cultural and sport actions with youth participation (festivals, competitions, meetings and other activities);

to strive for special lessons and the lectures, devoted to such themes as "Trade unions and social partnership", "Trade unions and youth", "To whom and what for are necessary trade unions?" to be included in the programs of public disciplines in schools, colleges and universities.

2.5. Work on training and preparing trade union activists.

The basis of effective improvement of trade union work with youth is to be the training and constantly upgrading preparation of union activists. Taking into consideration the purpose the FNPR should do the following:

to pay special attention to preparation of young union activists, using new educational and information technologies, to continue with the practice of arranging special youth educational projects with participation of the international organizations and funds  and also to send youth away on training abroad to study international trade union experience ; to organize conferences, meetings, forums, seminars, "round tables" on specific youth problems;

to study and expand the experience of work with youth in the FNPR affiliates, to popularize some examples of youth policy realization at places, to give regular coverage of union youth issues through union mass media, and also on radio and TV;

to establish communications and arrange exchange of information with the international trade union structures working with youth.

3. THE BRANCH LEVEL

Within the framework of the FNPR youth policy including branch specific character there is need for each affiliate of the FNPR:

to set up  a youth council in its structures and in its departments - division or to appoint employees (under the age 35), responsible for this work and carrying out interaction with Youth council of FNPR;

to hear regularly issues on the youth policy at the sessions of union administrative departments concerning, to convene branch conferences of young members with discussion the most acute questions;

to carry on active work on involving young people in union membership;

to provide participation of chairmen of youth councils in administrative bodies of trade unions;

to provide for moral and financial motivation for professional growth of union young staff, to create the system of effective stimulus for work for trade unions, including social guarantees, an opportunity for getting free-of-charge education and a profession;

to try to prepare a special unit on social and labour protection of youth  rights to be included in branch tariff agreements and to supervise its realization;

to achieve opportunities for professional upgrading of youth, adequate conditions of work, life, studies and rest;

to inform operatively the FNPR Youth Council on problems, requirements, obtained experience of work with youth;

to publish materials on youth councils work, cooperation of union organizations with youth in branch and specialized editions, to popularize some examples of the youth policy implementation at  enterprises and in organizations;

to distribute information received from the Youth Council of the FNPR.

4. THE REGIONAL LEVEL

The FNPR regional associations of union organizations within the framework of the Conception of the FNPR youth policy create youth councils in the structure, to gain the chapter “Work with youth” to be included in regional agreements, participate in working out and implementing regional youth programs, elaborate and conduct own programs directed to:

social and economic protection of youth by providing sufficient amount of workplaces with the income level which guarantees decent life;

involving new members from working and studying youth in the ranks of trade union, building up primary trade union organizations in new sectors of the economy where a lot of young people are employed;

carrying out collective trade union actions in order to protect rights and interests of youth;

assistance in training, employment, professional growth of youth, insuring in dwelling questions and social support of low-income young families and students;

support and organization of mass social, labour, cultural, sports and other youth events, organization of adequate leisure and rest of youth;

preparation and training of union activists among youth;

development of cooperation with regional mass media to promote trade union work with youth.

5. WORK IN THE PRIMARY TRADE-UNION ORGANIZATIONS

It is impossible to reach considerable changes in the trade union work with youth without stirring up this work on certain enterprises and organizations.

It is necessary for this purpose for the primary trade-union organizations:

to create youth councils under union committees (commissions);

to recommend chairmen of youth councils (commissions)to be elected as deputy chairmen of the primary trade union organizations;

to participate in realization of branch and regional youth programs;

to carry on active targeted work aimed at involving youth in trade unions;

to strive for the chapter “Work with youth” to be included in collective agreements.

In cooperation with a union the whole trade union organization youth councils (commissions) are engaged in solving social and labour questions of youth, organizing events which young people interested in, competitions "The best professional", evenings, concerts, sports competitions, walking tours, discotheques, etc.

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