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A.Sapfirova, V. Volkova, V. Petrushkina y G. Vasilyeva / Prevención de las violaciones del derecho a la
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Interacción y Perspectiva Dep. Legal pp 201002Z43506
Revista de Trabajo Social ISSN 2244-808X
Vol. 12 No2 214-221pp. Copyright © 2022
Julio-diciembre
ARTÍCULO DE INVESTIGACIÓN
Prevención de las violaciones del derecho a la protección laboral: factores
determinantes para preservar la salud de los trabajadores
DOI:10.5281/zenodo.7114646
Apollinariya A. Sapfirova *, Victoria V. Volkova **, Anna V. Petrushkina ***, Evgeniya
G. Vasilyeva ****
Resumen
El documento pretende demostrar la posibilidad de preservar la salud de los empleados
proporcionándoles un entorno de trabajo seguro. El objetivo de la investigación puede
alcanzarse utilizando el método histórico-jurídico, el método de análisis jurídico y el
método formal-jurídico. El análisis histórico-jurídico de las normas de protección laboral
de los empleados de las fábricas del siglo XIX y de los empleados del siglo XXI demostró
la validez de la formación del derecho laboral como derecho de protección laboral de los
empleados. Durante años, el sistema de priorización de las medidas de castigo a los
empresarios por las violaciones del derecho de protección laboral ha tenido un impacto
negativo en su cultura jurídica. Sólo en la última década, los legisladores y los
organismos encargados de hacer cumplir la ley han empezado a considerar la prevención
de las violaciones de los derechos de los empleados como la forma más eficaz de
cumplirlos. Como resultado, en primer lugar, es necesario mejorar la cultura jurídica del
empresario al tiempo que se garantiza la seguridad laboral y se preserva la salud de los
empleados. En segundo lugar, el análisis de la clasificación de las medidas preventivas
ha demostrado que las medidas de prevención de accidentes de trabajo garantizan la
seguridad laboral de los empleados y las medidas de prevención de enfermedades
profesionales, la preservación de la salud de los empleados. En tercer lugar, es
fundamental cambiar el principio de contratación de las mujeres y darles el derecho a
elegir cualquier profesión (excepto las prohibidas por las normas internacionales).
Palabras clave: protección laboral, prevención de violaciones del derecho a la
protección laboral, preservación de la salud de los trabajadores.
Abstract
Preventing violations of the right to labor protection: determining factors
in preserving employee health
The paper aims to demonstrate the possibility of preserving employee health by
providing them with a safe working environment. The research goal can be achieved
using the historical-legal method, the method of legal analysis, and the formal-legal
method. The historical-legal analysis of labor protection standards of factory employees
of the 19th century and employees of the 21st century showed the validity of the
formation of labor law as the right of employees’ labor protection. For years, the system
of prioritizing measures to punish employers for violations of labor protection law has
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215
had a negative impact on their legal culture. Only in the last decade, legislators and law
enforcement agencies have begun to consider preventing violations of employees’ rights
as the most effective way to comply with them. As a result, first, it is necessary to
improve the legal culture of the employer while ensuring occupational safety and
preserving the health of employees. Second, the analysis of the classification of
preventive measures has shown that measures for preventing accidents at work ensure
the occupational safety of employees and measures for the prevention of occupational
diseases – the preservation of the employee health. Third, it is crucial to change the
principle of employing women and give them the right to choose any profession (except
for those prohibited by international standards).
Keywords: labor protection, prevention of violations of the right to labor protection,
preserving the employee health.
Recibido: 03/08/2022 Aceptado: 12/09/2022
* Doctorado en Derecho, Profesor Asociado, Universidad Agraria Estatal de Kuban que lleva el nombre de I.T.
Trubilin, Krasnodar, Rusia. e-mail: pol499@yandex.ru
** Doctorado en Derecho, Profesor Asociado, Universidad Estatal Rusa de Justicia, sede del Cáucaso Norte,
Krasnodar, Rusia. e-mail: truba.ru@mail.ru
*** Profesora, Universidad Estatal Rusa de Justicia, sede del Cáucaso Norte, Krasnodar, Rusia. e-mail:
joesline@yandex.ru
**** Doctorado en Derecho, Profesor Asociado, Universidad Estatal Rusa de Justicia, sede del Cáucaso Norte,
Krasnodar, Rusia. e-mail: vasileva_e80@mail.ru
1.- Introduction
Labor protection is an essential component of the labor process. The occupational
safety of employees is one of the guarantees of the labor legislation of Russia. The
employee’s right to labor protection corresponds to the employer’s obligation to ensure
it. This goal can be achieved both through a system of sanctions (i.e., restoring the right
to occupational safety and health that was violated) and through the prevention of
violations of this right. In our opinion, the second method is much more effective because
it is easier to prevent violations of rights than to restore them.
Scientists worldwide continue studying the realization of rights that ensure human
and civil health (including the health of employees). The solution to these issues
significantly affects the health of the country’s population and its economic
development. The performance of a healthy employee differs significantly from their
sick colleague, whose labor activity is accompanied by additional costs for the
employer. A healthy employee is economically beneficial for an employer. One of the
criteria for preserving employee health is occupational safety, which is achieved,
among other things, by preventing violations of labor protection law.
The implementation of the right to occupational safety and health covers several
activities, the study of which will fully disclose the topic of prevention of violations of
the right to occupational safety and health of employees. The following issues will
allow employers to ensure occupational safety for their employees: (1) funding of
labor protection measures, (2) conducting a specific assessment of the working
environment, (3) providing employees with personal protective equipment, and (4)
A.Sapfirova, V. Volkova, V. Petrushkina y G. Vasilyeva / Prevención de las violaciones del derecho a la
protección laboral: factores determinantes para preservar la salud de los trabajadores
216
following the procedure for investigating industrial accidents and occupational
diseases.
We analyzed the literature that covers (1) basic research on labor law (Tal, 1913;
Alexandrov, 1948; Blanpain, 2016), (2) intermediate studies that consider the problems
of labor protection law through the prism of other labor law institutions, including social
partnership (Alexandrov, 1948; Vaslichev, 2000; Gubenko, 2003; Alekseenko, 2006;
Krasnykh, 2008; Sadakhmedov, 2009; Mikhailov, 2013; Frolova et al., 2016;
Kuznetsova, 2016), and (3) research in comparative-legal terms (Galiakbarova et al.,
2016). The essence of these studies is to restore the already violated labor rights of
employees.
However, only a few scientific papers focus on preventing violations of the right to
labor protection of employees (Markovichenko, 2011; Sapfirova et al., 2020). Therefore,
the problem of ensuring occupational safety for an employee requires further
research.
2. Materials and methods
To achieve the research goals, we used several methods. Above all, we used the
historical and legal method to give a historical overview of the content of the right to
labor protection. Furthermore, the legal analysis method allowed us to study the norms
of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation and other legal acts containing the labor
law norms. We tried to identify the shortcomings of these norms and the prospects for
the development of labor protection law. The formal-legal method enabled us to propose
measures to improve the legal regulation of labor protection and employees’ right to
labor protection and formulate new standards preventing violations of labor protection
of employees.
3. Results
Labor protection of employees is the most outstanding achievement of justice in the
20th century. In the 19th century, the factory owners used not only the labor of the adult
population (16–18 hours a day) but also the labor of young children, considering it the
most effective. Children died at an early age, before they reached 18, due to grueling
slave labor. That is why one of the first labor laws of the Russian Empire of the 19th
century was the Law “On minors working in factories, plants, and manufactories” (June
1, 1882) (Russia. Laws and regulation, 1886). Although the law applied only to factories,
it was of great importance since it introduced a ban on the work of children under 12,
as well as their work on Sunday and at night (from 9 pm to 5 am) and established an 8-
hour working day for children aged 12–15. The second law was the law “On the
prohibition of night work for minors and women in factories, plants, and manufactories”
(June 3, 1885), which prohibited night work for children under 17 and women in specific
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217
industries (e.g., in cotton factories) (Russia. Laws and regulation, 1887). These laws
were subject to the same fate as most labor laws that attempted to weaken the power
of factory owners. One by one, these laws were amended to eliminate previously
accepted provisions (e.g., minors could also be involved in night work). Even the factory
labor inspectorate, formed in the 1880s, could not prevent the cruel exploitation of the
labor of the Russian population (including child labor) (Bondaryuk, 2014). What is most
striking is that the thinking of 19th-century manufacturers and 21st-century employers
has hardly changed: the profit justifies the means. If it is necessary to force employees
to work 24 hours a day (as during the pandemic this spring, in remote work), the
employer will do it, despite violating the right to rest and labor protection. From an
economic point of view, employee health and occupational safety are an unjustified
waste of money for some employers.
The first Decree of the Council of People’s Commissars of the Russian Soviet
Federative Socialist Republic “On the eight-hour working day” (October 30, 1917)
declared that the working day must not last more than 8 hours and exceed 48 hours per
week (Council of People’s Commissars of the RSFSR, 1917). This event dramatically
changed the legal status of employees. The decree prohibited night work for persons
under 16. This decision was a notable achievement of employees in labor protection.
That is why labor law is called the right of labor protection of employees.
Many decades have passed since then. More than one code regulating the work of
employees in Russia has been adopted. However, labor protection remains attractive to
the employees, guaranteeing the protection of their health and the proper investigation
of occupational diseases and accidents that may occur at work. Recently, standards have
appeared that fix the possibility of preventing violations of employees’ right to labor
protection. However, these standards are not in demand by employers. Nevertheless,
we hope that in the future, given the socialization of business as one of the directions of
economic development, they will be in high demand by employers who are considering
the prospects for the development of their business.
Today, the prevention of violations of labor protection allows the employer to avoid
criminal or administrative responsibility (depending on the composition of the offenses).
The fact that the legislator classifies certain violations of labor protection law as crimes
(Article 143 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) indicates the importance
attached by the State to such violations of employees’ rights (State Duma of the Federal
Assembly of the Russian Federation, 1996). Prevention of such violations increases the
significance of labor protection requirements for the employer. For example, measures
for preventing accidents at work may include (1) the provision of personal protective
equipment to employees (e.g., special clothing and footwear; respiratory, hand, head,
face, hearing, and eye protection equipment, etc.) (Ministry of Health and Social
Development of Russia, 2009); (2) training each employee in the basics of labor
protection, as required by the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (State Duma of the
A.Sapfirova, V. Volkova, V. Petrushkina y G. Vasilyeva / Prevención de las violaciones del derecho a la
protección laboral: factores determinantes para preservar la salud de los trabajadores
218
Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, 2001); and (3) implementation of sanitary
services (equipped sanitary facilities, canteens, recreation rooms, etc.)
In our opinion, the primary measures to prevent occupational diseases of employees
involve (1) conducting a special assessment of working conditions, (2) carrying out
medical examinations (note that under the new rules, employees under 40 years are
given one day in three years with the preservation of average earnings for medical
examinations; over 40 years of age – one day a year; employees of pre-retirement and
retirement age – two days a year), (3) providing therapeutic and preventive food, milk,
and disinfecting supplies (soap).
4. Discussion
We believe that to prevent violations of the right to labor protection, one should raise
the level of the legal culture of the employer. The modern employer differs from the
19th-century factory owner who used child labor, which is now prohibited (except for
creative jobs – theater, cinema, circus, etc.). However, 21st-century employers, just like
19th-century factory owners, prefer profit-making to ensure employees’ occupational
safety. Meanwhile, the prevention of violations of labor protection requirements is the
first step of the employer’s legal culture and may well lead to benefits for employers.
Moreover, this benefit does not necessarily must be material (although this is
important); it can be expressed in improving the employer’s business reputation, which
will allow them to employ highly qualified specialists who always pay attention to the
employer’s compliance with the basics of legal culture. An employer who takes care of
their employees, including the right to occupational safety and health, is valued among
employees. Compliance by the employer with high legal culture in ensuring occupational
safety and health should be considered a principle of the institution of labor protection
as an institution of labor law. This principle should be attributed to labor law principles
since it can manifest itself in labor relations with employees in different positions.
However, this question does not belong to the research subject and requires additional
argumentation.
The system of labor protection measures established by the legislation is the most
appropriate; it allows one to prevent violations of employees’ rights to labor protection.
Additionally, it is crucial to draw the legislator’s attention to the possibility of hiring
women in any profession. The current list of such jobs was updated (100 items instead
of the previously existing 456) (Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian
Federation, 2019) and will enter into force on January 1, 2021. However, it is necessary
to abolish it in full since its existence is discriminatory. Women must decide for
themselves whether to work in harmful working conditions, aviation, or other areas. This
right should be granted to women but subject to specific rules. First, the government
must not oblige women to choose these professions but economically encourage them
not to choose them. Second, when employing a woman, the employer must comply with
international standards on the protection of women’s rights to their occupational safety
and adhere to the relevant International Labor Organization [ILO] Conventions (e.g.,
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219
Convention No. 45 “On the employment of women in underground work in mines”
(International Labor Organization [ILO], 1935).
5. Conclusion
The research resulted in several conclusions that allow one to prevent violations of
employees’ rights to labor protection.
Prevention of violations of labor protection law is a set of preventive measures that
contribute to the employer’s compliance with employees’ rights to labor protection.
These measures can be divided into two groups: measures for preventing accidents at
work and measures for preventing occupational diseases. Each group has its prevention
measures that ensure occupational safety for employees, which are unique for each
group.
Considering women’s interests, one must cancel any lists of jobs prohibited for
women since these lists are discriminatory, despite the government’s concern for
women’s health. In this regard, the employer must comply with international standards
that explicitly prohibit women from working in certain jobs. The ILO conventions are
valid on the Russian territory, if they are ratified; thus, employers must comply only
with the ratified ILO Conventions. Therefore, we believe that there is no need to draft
another list at the national level, which contains other professions prohibited for women.
Labor protection law does not require the employer to develop a legal culture in
relations with employees. At the same time, without a legal culture, it is difficult to force
the employer to comply with the labor protection law since no administrative penalties
(fine, disqualification) will affect the employer in full if they are not interested (both
economically and morally) in the absence of violations of the labor protection law. Such
tools as competitions for the best employer or the best labor protection specialist can
encourage employers and improve their legal culture in labor relations.
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