[Translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

Putin ordered to use child labour to cope with the "staff shortage" in the economy, 26 August 2023

Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed to remove restrictions on the work of minors in order to cope with the shortage of workers in the economy, which the authorities estimate at hundreds of thousands of people.

The government and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives should consider "promoting employment and stimulating employment" of citizens aged 14 and over, according to a list of Putin's instructions published on the Kremlin's website.

Teenagers, according to the idea of the president, can be attracted to perform "temporary jobs", and organisations that do this can be provided with benefits. In addition, the hiring of citizens under the age of 18 should be simplified, according to Putin's instructions.

According to the Gaidar Institute, the shortage of personnel in Russian factories and factories has reached a record since 1996, that is, for the entire time of available statistics. In July, 42% of enterprises complained about the lack of workers, a survey of their owners and top managers showed. Problems with personnel arose after mobilization, as a result of which 300 thousand people went to the front, and up to a million left the country. A new blow was the massive recruitment of volunteers and contractors, the number of which since the beginning of 2023 has exceeded 200 thousand people.

Manufacturing enterprises, which, according to the authorities, should replace imports from Western countries, lack about 660,000 specialists, Vasily Osmakov, First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, said...According to him, the human resource in Russia has been exhausted "both locally and strategically", and the shortage of workers has become the main challenge after the imposition of sanctions.