Bureaucrats won’t increase unemployment benefits, because they don’t want to encourage laziness in people

VLADIVOSTOK, May 1, vladivostoktimes.com According to the Ministry of Education and Science forecast about 13 % of graduating students of universities and professional educational institution won’t find job this year. That’s why the Government is preparing special measures, which include temporary work places allotment and training courses. According to the program about 50000 students will get temporary jobs, and this practically covers those “risk zone”, widely spoken about by heads of the regions. An employer should give free training courses to graduating student, and this student should get additional qualification at the expense of his future salary for the next three months. The White House also counts on the organization of a big number of work places due to global constructions: Olympic Games in Sochi and APEC Summit in Vladivostok, as “Russian Newspaper” reported.

Now the Government sums up intermediate results of employment support measures realization. 550 rubles every day during three months and railway ticket payment – the White House is going to offer stimulus for work places search and pay to unemployed people.

Bureaucrats won’t increase unemployment benefits, because they don’t want to encourage laziness in people. Although it is impossible to live on current social security, as the “Russian newspaper” source in the White House admitted. A maximal social security in Russia is 4900 rubles per month, and the minimal one is 850 rubles. This governmental help isn’t clearly counted on life without working. “We shouldn’t encourage unemployed people to to be registrated in employment agencies, on the contrary people should agree to temporary jobs and social work, instead of sitting without work at all,’ the interlocutor of the newspaper said. And when he was asked a question, why there is social security in a number of Western counties, that allows people to live, he answered that he pities them.

According to the Ministry of Health and Social Development 738000 people are at the risk of being discharged, and 1,3 million people work short week – 2-3 days per week. At a lot of enterprises the production is stopped and employees are sent in indefinite vacation. And the situation is unfavourable even in those companies, whom the government helps from the budget, and demands to keep the staff. And bureaucrats decided how to support discharged people without help of employers. According to the source the government opens “unprecedented opportunity” – now people can find temporary job or even get training for a new profession during free time. 216 000 people will have an opportunity to get training for a new profession within regional and federal programs, and 1 million 72 thousand will get temporary jobs. For example employees can tidy territory, or re-equip production. “what is not painted will be painted, what was blue will be yellow, where there was disorder and scrap metal, there will be cleanly and well-organized,” said the source. And this work will be paid.

“The scientists told us, that we are “preserving” pseudobeing busy, and it is dangerous for the economics,” said a high-ranking bureaucrat. “And if a man doesn’t have work and money what would be then? Then we will have to struggle against alcoholism, criminogenic situation, etc.

In spite of bad tendency, the government isn’t planning to revise the forecast for official unemployment in 2009. If the current rates of unemployment growth will be the same and there won’t be any unexpected negative changes like financial problems in autumn, we will keep the index of 2,6 million of unemployed persons on the average this year, said the interlocutor of the newspaper.

But the source said that the rate of unemployment increase is going down. In February and January the number of unemployed persons increased by 100000 people weekly, and now 23,5 thousand people loose their jobs weekly. The most difficult  situation in this field is seen in Ural, in Siberia, in Vologodskaya and Tverskaya areas. Only in Chelyabinskaya area the grows of unemployed persons was 300% for half of the year, from October to April. The interlocutor said, that in Russia the record low level of unemployment, which was 1,2 million people or 1,6% of economically active population, was registered before the crisis.

Anyway the army of unemployed persons will be soon increased by “recruits”. According to the Ministry of Education and Science forecast about 13 % of graduating students of universities and professional educational institution won’t find job this year. That’s why the Government is preparing special measures, which include temporary work places allotment and training courses. According to the program about 50000 students will get temporary jobs, and this practically covers those “risk zone”, widely spoken about by heads of the regions. An employer should give free training courses to graduating student, and this student should get additional qualification at the expense of his future salary for the next three months. The White House also counts on the organization of a big number of work places due to global constructions: Olympic Games in Sochi and APEC Summit in Vladivostok. Today at the meeting the Ministry of economic development will instruct the Ministry of regions to determine the number of vacancies in these federal projects.

Thereby those people, who won’t find work in their regions, will be able to move to another place and try their luck there. The Government agreed to sponsor the resettlements. According to the source about 16 thousand people will be able to take this opportunity. They will get railway tickets and they will be given 550 rubles daily for dwelling payments. Also the source doesn’t except the fact, that if the citizen won’t manage to find a job and permanent residence, the government could sponsor also his or her return.

By the way countrymen, who will move from other countries, will be paid good compensation. The federal program for assistance for voluntary resettlement to Russia for countrymen, who live abroad, will help its participants with resettlement and provision of the necessary facilities, including official registration of legal and social status, job placement, municipal and pensionary service, preschool, school and  vocational education. The Government gives money to migrants for fare pay, 40-60 thousand rubles and 15-20 thousand rubles for every member of a family, and benefit in size of 50% of living wage in the region until the person will find a job. According to the Federal Migratory Service, about 10 thousand countrymen abroad moved to Russia within federal program realization in 2008. During 2007 only 682 countrymen moved to Russia from foreign countries.

The most enterprising unemployed persons can try to get subsidy in size of 60 thousand rubles for the opening of their own business. According to the Ministry of Health and social development about 50 thousand potential businessmen have filed an application for this subsidy in employment agencies. But they should first stand up for their business project. Beside this there will be tests for future businessmen, which will detect whether the candidate is able to spend the subsidy reasonably.

It is interesting

The coming period will be difficult for Russian economics, but there won’t be economic collapse: anticrisis measures of the government bring positive results, and the economics modernization program  estimated till 2020 sure will be carried out, as the press secretary of the prime minister Dmitriy PESKOV reported on Friday in the interview with the radio station “Voice of Russia” (“Golos Rossii”). According to him the fact that the Central Bank lowered the refinancing rate by 0,5 point to 12,5 % indicated about the growth of confidence in national currency and about decrease of speculations at the market.

PESKOV is convinced, that crisis just united the pair MEDVEDEV – PUTIN, and rumors about tension in the relationship between the President and the Prime Minister are just attempts of enemies to find something non-existent. “President, Prime Minister and Cabinet are working in unison and working quite well,” the Press secretary said.