Prosecutorial oversight in the area of labor law compliance
Oversight of compliance with labor legislation regarding the timely payment of wages to employees by employers is one of the main areas of activity of the Prosecutor's Office of the Vitebsk Region.
The main reasons for overdue wage debts remain the lack of own funds in organizations, high indebtedness, low profitability and unprofitability of organizations, and a reduction in budget financing.
According to statistical data as of 01.09.2016, 114 organizations in the region had wage debts totaling 3,948.9 thousand rubles, including for August 2016 – 3,831.3 thousand rubles, and for previous months – 117.6 thousand rubles.
Overall, the measures taken by the prosecutor's office contributed to a decrease in the number of cases of untimely wage payments. Thus, as of 01.01.2016, 122 organizations had wage debts totaling 44,215.8 million non-denominated rubles; as of 01.04.2016, 188 organizations had debts totaling 93,794.1 million non-denominated rubles, and as of 01.07.2016, 123 organizations had wage debts totaling 43,557.5 million non-denominated rubles.
In total, over the past 9 months of the current year, prosecutors of cities and districts, as well as the Vitebsk and Orsha transport prosecutors, submitted 51 representations, issued 124 orders, and announced 34 official warnings. As a result of the review of prosecutorial oversight acts, 84 individuals were brought to disciplinary responsibility.
In addition, by the decisions of district prosecutors in cases of administrative offenses, 250 officials who delayed wage payments to employees were brought to administrative responsibility. During the execution of the orders, wage debts were paid in the amount of 764,147.96 rubles.
A priority area of the Prosecutor's Office of the Vitebsk Region is working with appeals from citizens and legal entities, during which prosecutors often identify violations of labor legislation regarding the timeliness of wage payments.
According to statistical data for the first 9 months of 2016, there was a slight increase in the number of resolved appeals from citizens regarding violations of labor legislation, including on issues of untimely wage payments (147 appeals (in 2015 – 133), of which 40 (43) were fully satisfied).
In cases of violations of labor legislation identified during the review of citizens' appeals, prosecutors take appropriate response measures to eliminate the identified violations, causes, and conditions that contributed to them.
Prosecutorial oversight in this area is systematic and is under constant control of the Prosecutor's Office of the Vitebsk Region. The requirement for precise and uniform enforcement of labor legislation and the observance of constitutional rights of workers remains unchanged in oversight activities.
Prosecutor of the Department for Oversight of
Compliance with Legislation
and Legality of Legal Acts
of the Prosecutor's Office of the Vitebsk Region
1st Class Lawyer
Viktoriya Khol