New strategies of staff management: Russia in the WTO

The round table “New strategies of staff management: Russia in the WTO” was held in Moscow on December 13. It was held within the framework of the Business Congress organized by the Moscow City Office of “RUSSIA’S BULWARK” and the “Professional Arena” Company with the support from the Department of Science, Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship of the city of Moscow, Staff Advisers’ Association, Superjob.ru and “HR Business” and “HR Specialist” magazines.

Approximately 150 persons – HR directors, HR section heads, recruiting, training and development of personnel specialists took part in the event.

Olga Vasilieva, General Director of the “Professional Arena” company, congress and exposition activity expert of Moscow City Office of “RUSSIA’S BULWARK”, addressed the delegates with a welcoming speech.

Russia joined the WTO on August 22 of 2012 and became the full 156th member. Most businessmen used to think that the WTO was something vague and remote, but now they are seriously thinking about global changes, including the corrections to the existing system of staff management. What novelties will the WTO bring to the Russian business? This was the main question of the round table, which was discussed from the positions of application of new instruments of staff management as well as from the standpoint of legal regulation.

The matter of the future legal changes to the labour law sphere was discussed just as avidly. Tatiana Samarina, Doctor at Law, Senior Lawyer of the Law Firm "YUST", spoke to those present about the corrections made to the draft law on prohibition of the agency labour during its preparation for the second reading. Agency labour is currently prohibited in Russia, but not governed in any way. The exceptions, which supposedly will be made to the general rule of ban on the agency labour, are the main intrigue of the coming year. The employers still hope for a resolution of the issue, though the authors of the draft law insist that such scheme of labour relations is illegal.

The norms on the remote work are another significant novelty. The draft law is already through the first reading and is being avidly discussed by the experts.

The event made possible the discussion of many acute issues of the details of attraction of foreign workers, of protection of the employer against the employees’ abuse of their rights, rights and powers of state labour inspectors etc.

The official post-release of the organizers is available here.