Labour protection for women

摘要

The Russian Federation' Constitution gives women the same rights at work as men. There is a range of legislation covering pay and conditions, safety measures, food and workwear entitlements, and employment of pregnant women and mothers. Current economic problems, unfortunately, mean that many aspects of health and safety at work are being given insufficient attention. Some 90 000 women are injured at work and around 500 lose their lives every year. At the beginning of 1995 it was estimated that 1.2million women were working in unsatisfactory conditions. In agriculture, because of the low level of mechanisation of many processes, many women are engaged in demanding physical labour, particularly in the livestock and industrial-scale poultry sectors. With pregnant women and mothers of dependent children, refusal of employment or dismissal on these grounds is prohibited. In the event of an enterprise's closure, new employment must be found for such women. Penalties for labour protection law infringements causing damage to health or death include substantial fines, imprisonment, and exclusion from managerial posts for those responsible.