Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov has called for a new labor code which would include "the possibility for the employer to manage his labor force freely," in a speech published on the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs' website on Friday.
"I think that the strategic approach today is a systemic review of the labor code and relevant social legislation," Prokhorov said. "The review should not be aimed at improving life for the employer or the employee, but at creation of an atmosphere which would create the best conditions for the country's development."
Prokhorov, who was sharply criticized last year after proposing a 20 hour increase in the working week, said the existing labor code was largely copied from Soviet legislation adopted 40 years ago.
He said it was essential for the nation's economic development to make it easier for workers to migrate in search of a better job and a "modern" level of social guarantees and motivation to be tied to labor productivity, which is low in Russia compared to developed states. Salaries must be high, he said.
"I do not quite understand fears of excessive exploitation of workers in the fashion of the nineteenth century," he said. "An employee's market , not an employer's ... is definitely coming in our country thanks to the demographic situation and the changing economic structure."
Russia's demographic situation was described as a crisis last year by President Dmitry Medvedev. The population is both falling overall and rapidly aging, creating serious problems for the pension fund.
MOSCOW, April 8 (RIA Novosti)
