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FNPR Newsletter. April 30, 2026

30.04.2026

April 30, 2026

Dear colleagues,

Here is our next newsletter on current political and socio-economic situation in Russia, and on the FNPR activities to protect workers' rights and interests.

By the end of the first quarter, Russian posted GDP growth of about 1.4%. The cooling of the economy which trade unions have opposed since last year, is increasingly recognized as a serious problem at the national level. On March 23, President Putin tasked the federal government to "get back to the trajectory of sustained economic growth". Following that, on April 7 the President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the country’s leading employers' association, also acknowledged that economic slowdown poses tangible risks and urged the Government and the Central bank to take necessary measures to stimulate growth.

Reacting to the situation, the Central Bank of Russia cut the key rate to 14.5%. Although it is considerably less than a year ago, when the key rate was 21%, in the trade unions' view it remains excessively high and impedes recovery.

However, as of February the labour market remained stable with the unemployment rate at a record low of 2.1% of the total employed population.

Trade union experts have noted a worrying trend of the increased incidence of delays in timely payment of wages. The Research Monitoring Centre administered by the FNPR Vice-Chairman Evgeny Makarov, reports that during the first quarter of 2026 43 social and labour conflicts occurred in Russia, including two strikes, and 63% of those conflicts were caused by late payment of wages.

Speaking at the extended Board meeting of the Prosecutor General’s Office on March 19, Vladimir Putin said that control of timely payment of wages should be a priority for the prosecution authorities in their exercise of prosecutorial supervision.

Maintaining social stability in the country has helped to keep political situation stable, too. According to the survey conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation on April 19, President Putin is trusted by 74% of Russian citizens. At the same time, 76% of respondents positively assess his performance as the head of state.

Another poll by the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Centre showed that two-thirds of Russians are planning to vote in the State Duma elections to be held in September 2026.

From the point of view of trade unions, one of the most important events in recent months has been the introduction in the State Duma, at the initiative of the deputies close to the trade union movement, of a bill clearly formulating the features of actual employment relationship. These include:

- integration of an employee into the organisational structure of the employer's enterprise;

- employee’s compliance with the employer’s instructions and internal workplace regulations established by the employer;

- provision of necessary working conditions by the employer (equipment, raw materials, etc.);

- the focus of employee’s activity aimed at making a profit by the employer, etc.

Thus, the bill specifies and makes practically applicable the norm already existing in the Federal legislation: employers refusing their employees the conclusion of an employment contract and concluding civil-law contracts instead, as with self-employed persons, are subject to administrative liability. Oversight of compliance with the Law will be carried out by the State Labour Inspectorate. Since the draft bill is supported by the United Russia Party, which has a majority in the State Duma, there are good reasons to expect its adoption.

Another important initiative in recent months to promote workers' rights has been a draft bill prohibiting employers from offering probationary periods for women with children under the age of three. On March 24, the State Duma adopted it in its third reading. It is expected that the Federation Council and the President will also approve it, and it will come into force on September 1, 2026.

The FNPR supports this bill because in trade union experts' opinion it will facilitate a smooth, from a psychological point of view, return of women to work, their adaptation in the workplace and the development of stable employment.

The international environment, particularly the armed conflict in Ukraine, remains an important factor affecting the lives of Russian workers and the country as a whole. It should be admitted that he peace process is increasingly dragging on. In our country, state bodies and the general public, including trade unions, hold a common understanding on this issue: responsibility for protracting a peace settlement rests with the Ukrainian authorities and the leadership of the European Union, which is sponsoring the current Kiev regime. It is the Ukrainian authorities that, under various pretexts, are avoiding a good-faith and constructive engagement in peace talks.

As a peaceful settlement has not been reached, Russian troops continue to liberate territories with Russian population that have seceded from Ukraine after the 2014 coup d'état and joined Russia. By the beginning of April, the liberation of the territory of the Lugansk People’s Republic, one of the two regions forming Donbass, was completed.

For their part, the FNPR and its member organisations continue to provide humanitarian aid to civilians affected by the hostilities.

Trade unions assess the economic situation and the socio-political environment in the Russian Federation as satisfactory and stable without serious risks of deterioration in the medium term.