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INTERNATIONAL LABOUR OFFICE

TRADE UNION RIGHTS
IN THE U.S.S.R.
Documents relating to the Case concerning the U.S.S.R. Dealt with
by the Committee on Freedom of Association of the Governing Body
of the International Labour Office in Its 23rd and 27th Reports

GENEVA
1959

STUDIES AND REPORTS
New Series, No. 49

PRINTED BY " LA TRIBUNE DE GENEVE ", GENEVA (SWITZERLAND)

CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION

I. Twenty-third Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association (Case
No. 111 : Complaint Presented by the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions against the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics)

Analysis of the Complaint
Analysis of the Government's First Reply

5
17

Request for Further Information

Analysis of the Government's Further Observations
Other Communications from the Government of the U.S.S.R. relating
to the Questions Raised in the I.C.F.T.U. Complaint
Principal Legislative Provisions and Other Documents relating to the
Questions Raised in the Complaint of the I.C.F.T.U. and in the
Reply of the Government of the U.S.S.R

Conclusions

Appendix I : List of Legislative and Statutory Provisions Available to
the Committee on Freedom of Association
Appendix II: Principal Legislative Provisions and Other Documents
relating to the Questions Raised in the Complaint of the I.C.F.T.U.
and in the Reply of the Government of the U.S.S.R

79
81

A. The Trade Union System
81
Constitutional Provisions
81
Labour Code
82
Constitution and Rules of the Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R.
84
Provisions relating to Trade Unions Contained in the Rules of •
the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R
96
B. Fusion
Decree
Decree
Decree

of
of
of
of

the Soviet Trade Unions with Organs of the State
23 June 1933
10 September 1933
21 August 1934

96
97
97
99

C. Collective Agreements
Decree of 4 February 1947
Decision of the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions .
Collective Agreement for the Stalin Automobile Factory at
Moscow (1954)
D. Juridical Status of Individual Workers
Decree of 20 December 1938 concerning the Introduction of
Workbooks
Decree of 26 June 1940 respecting the Transfer to the EightHour Working Day and the Seven-Day Working Week, and
Prohibiting Wage-Earning and Salaried Employees from
Leaving the Undertaking or Institution Arbitrarily . . . .

99
99
101
106
123
123

124

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.
Page

Decree of 2 October 1940 concerning State Manpower Reserves
Decree of 18 January 1941 to Approve Model Works Rules for
Soviet Undertakings
Decree of 27 May 1940 to Increase the Powers of Foremen in
Undertakings for the Manufacture of Heavy Machinery . .
Regulations relating to the Material Responsibility of the Workers
Decree No. 203 of 25 April 1956 of the Presidium of the Supreme
Soviet of the U.S.S.R. respecting the Abolition of Penal
Judicial Proceedings against Workers and Employers Who
Leave Their Undertaking or Institution or Absent Themselves from Work without Valid Reason
II. Twenty-seventh Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, paragraphs 499-517 (Case No. I l l : Complaint Presented by the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions against the Government of the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics)
Survey of the Case
Conclusions
III. Letter to the Director-General of the International Labour Office from
Mr. A. Arutiunian, Representative of the U.S.S.R. Government on the
Governing Body

125
126
128
129

130

133
133
140

149

INTRODUCTION

On 20 November 1956 the Governing Body of the International
Labour Office approved, by 37 votes to 2, with 1 abstention, the
23rd Report of its Committee on Freedom of Association, which dealt
with a complaint against the Government of the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics presented by the International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions. Further, on 1 November 1957 the Governing Body
approved, subject to 3 votes against, with 1 abstention, that part of
the 27th Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association dealing
with the same question. This approval was given in accordance with
the procedure for the examination of complaints alleging infringements
of the exercise of trade union rights, which was established by mutual
agreement between the Economic and Social Council of the United
Nations and the Governing Body.
The origins and working of this procedure may be summarised
as follows.
In January 1950 the Governing Body, following upon discussions
with the Economic and Social Council which had taken place over a
period of nearly two years, decided to establish a Fact-Finding and
Conciliation Commission on Freedom of Association and defined its
terms of reference. It also decided to communicate to the Economic
and Social Council a certain number of suggestions with a view to
formulating a procedure for making the services of the Commission
available to the United Nations.
On 17 February 1950 the Economic and Social Council, during its
Tenth Session, adopted a resolution in which it formally approved the
decision of the Governing Body, considering that it corresponded to
the intent of the Council's earlier resolutions and that it was likely
to prove a most effective way of safeguarding trade union rights. It
also decided to accept, on behalf of the United Nations, the services
of the I.L.O. and the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission.
In March and June 1950 the Governing Body at its 111th and
112th Sesssions appointed the members of the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission, who were chosen not by reason of their nationality
but exclusively on the grounds of their competence, experience and
impartiality.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

At the 33rd Session of the International Labour Conference (June
1950) the validity of the action taken by the Governing Body in establishing the Commission was called in question and the Conference
adopted a report by its Selection Committee approving and confirming
the decisions taken by the Governing Body.
It is open to the Governing Body to refer to the Commission for
impartial examination any allegations of infringements of trade union
rights which the Governing Body, or the Conference acting on the
report of its Credentials Committee, considers appropriate. It is also
open to any government against which an allegation of infringement
of trade union rights is made to refer such an allegation to the Commission for investigation. The Commission is essentially a fact-finding
body, but it is authorised to discuss situations referred to it for investigation with the government concerned with a view to securing the adjustment of difficulties by agreement.
The only complaints receivable, apart from those officially transmitted to the I.L.O. by the General Assembly or the Economic and
Social Council of the United Nations, are those which come either
from organisations of workers or employers or from governments.
All allegations regarding infringements of trade union rights received
by the United Nations from governments or trade union or employers'
organisations against l.L.O. States Members are transmitted by the
Economic and Social Council to the Governing Body of the International
Labour Office.
With the exception of cases covered by article 26 of the I.L.O.
Constitution (which, it will be recalled, relates to the supervision and
application of Conventions ratified by a State Member) no complain*
can be referred to the Commission without the consent of the government concerned. Thus, if the Governing Body is of the opinion that
a complaint should be investigated it must first seek the consent of that
government. If such consent is not forthcoming the Governing Body
has to give consideration to the refusal with a view to taking any
appropriate alternative action designed to safeguard the rights relating
to freedom of association involved in the case, including measures to
give full publicity to the charges made, together with any comments
of the government concerned, and to that government's refusal to
co-operate in ascertaining the facts and in measures of conciliation.
In November 1951 the Governing Body set up a Committee on
Freedom of Association, consisting of nine regular members, to carry
out the preliminary examination of complaints previously entrusted
to the Officers of the Governing Body. Nine substitute members were
also appointed. It also decided that any member of the Committee

INTRODUCTION

who was a representative or national of the State against which a
representation had been made, or was a person occupying an official
position in the national association of employers or workers which had
made the representation, should be disqualified from participating in
the Committee when it was considering cases in which they were concerned. Finally, the Governing Body decided that the Director-General
should communicate all allegations to governments as soon as they
were received unless he considered that there were special circumstances
which made it desirable to refer a matter in the first instance to the
Committee.
The Committee (after preliminary examination, including the consideration of any observations made by the governments concerned,
if received within a reasonable period of time) would be expected to
report to the next session of the Governing Body that a case does not
call for further examination if it finds, for example, that the alleged
facts, if proved, would not constitute an infringement of the exercise
of trade union rights, or that the allegations made are so purely political
in character that it is undesirable to pursue the matter further or are
too vague to permit a consideration of the case on its merits, or that
the complainant has not offered sufficient evidence to justify reference
of the matter to the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission.1
When the Committee, after such preliminary examination, concludes that a case warrants further examination, it shall thereupon
report this conclusion to the Governing Body for a decision on the
desirability of attempting to secure the consent of the government
concerned to the reference of the case to the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission.
1

Even though reaching a conclusion of this kind, the Committee may request
the Governing Body to address recommendations to the governments of the States
concerned inviting them to amend their legislation or administrative practice with a
view to bringing them more completely into harmony with the principle of freedom
of association. In this connection several reports of the Committee on Freedom
of Association contain precise recommendations addressed by the Governing Body
to certain governments. For the first, second and third reports of the Committee,
see Sixth Report of the International Labour Organisation to the United Nations
(Geneva, I.L.O., 1952), Annex V; for the fourth, fifth and sixth reports of the Committee, see Seventh Report of the International Labour Organisation to the United
Nations (Geneva, I.L.O., 1953), Annex V; for the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, 11th
and 12th reports of the Committee, see Eighth Report of the International Labour
Organisation to the United Nations (Geneva, I.L.O., 1954), Annex II; for the 13th
and 14th reports of the Committee, see I.L.O. Official Bulletin, Vol. XXXVII, No. 4,
30 Nov. 1954; for the 15th and 16th reports of the Committee, see ibid., Vol. XXXVIII,
No. 1, 1955; for the 17th and 18th reports of the Committee, see ibid., Vol. XXXIX,
No. 1, 1956; for the 19th, 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th reports of the Committee,
see ibid., Vol. XXXIX, No. 4, 1956; for the 25th and 26th reports of the Committee,
see ibid., Vol. XL, No. 2, 1957; and for the 27th and 28th reports of the Committee,
see ibid., Vol. XLI, No. 3, 1958.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

The Committee shall submit to each session of the Governing
Body a progress report on all cases which the Governing Body has
determined warrant further examination. In every case in which the
government against which a complaint is made refuses to allow it to be
referred to the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission or has not
replied to a request for such consent, the Committee shall include in
its report to the Governing Body recommendations as to the " appropriate alternative action " which it considers the Governing Body
might take.
It was in accordance with this procedure that, construing the
reply of the Government of the U.S.S.R., dated 25 February 1958,
as a negative reply to the request addressed to it on 5 November 1957,
in accordance with the decision of the Governing Body at its 137th Session (Geneva, 29 October-1 November 1957), that the case concerning
the U.S.S.R. should be referred to the Fact-Finding and Conciliation
Commission, the Governing Body decided, on 20 November 1958,
to give full publicity to the 23rd and 27th Reports of the Committee
on Freedom of Association and to the reply received from the Government of the U.S.S.R.
The 23rd Report of the Committee contains an analysis of the
complaint presented by the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions and of the observations of the Government of the U.S.S.R.
on the complaint, cites the texts of the principal legislative provisions
and other documents relating to the trade union situation in the U.S.S.R.
and reproduces the conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of
Association.
The 27th Report of the Committee also contains the text of a
communication from the Government of the U.S.S.R., in which the
Government comments on the conclusions contained in the 23rd Report
of the Committee, and reproduces the further conclusions of the Committee and its recommendation to the Governing Body to request
the Government of the U.S.S.R. to consent to referral of the question
of freedom of association in the U.S.S.R. to the Fact-Finding and
Conciliation Commission on Freedom of Association.
A communication dated 25 February 1958 from the Government
of the U.S.S.R., which relates to both the 23rd and the 27th Reports
of the Committee on Freedom of. Association is appended.

TWENTY-THIRD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM
OF ASSOCIATION
1. The Committee on Freedom of Association set up by the Governing Body at its 117th Session (Geneva, November 1951) met at the International Labour Office, Geneva, on 9 and 10 November 1956. In the
absence of Mr. Paul Ramadier, former Prime Minister of France and
Chairman of the Committee, the Committee met under the chairmanship
of Mr. Roberto Ago, former Chairman of the Governing Body.
2. The Committee examined Case No. I l l relating to the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics and submits for the approval of the Governing Body the conclusions which it has reached concerning this case.
3. The Committee is still considering the 25 further cases included
in its agenda and will submit further reports to the Governing Body at
its present session.
Case No. I l l ; Complaint Presented by the International Confederation
of Free Trade Unions against the Government
of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLAINT

4. The complaint presented by the International Confederation of
Free Trade Unions (I.C.F.T.U.) against the Government of theU.S.S.R.
is contained in three communications : two of these dated 20 July 1950
and 28 May 1952 respectively, were addressed to the Economic and Social
Council of the United Nations and, following the entry of the U.S.S.R.
into the International Labour Organisation, were referred to the I.L.O.
by the Economic and Social Council at its 18th Session (June 1954) ;
the third was addressed directly to the I.L.O. by the I.C.F.T.U. on 7 October 1954. The complainant's three communications are analysed below.
Communication Dated 20 July 1950
5. In this communication the complainant makes, in particular, the
following allegations:

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

Government Determines Policy.
6. The trade unions in the Soviet Union were not permitted to call a
convention for 17 years—from 1932 until 1949. The practice of fixing
wage rates and working conditions by collective bargaining was discontinued in 1934. Since that time wage rates in the U.S.S.R. have been
determined by the Soviet Government or its agencies. In 1947, after
12 years during which no collective agreements had been concluded,
the agreements were reintroduced, but in name only, since collective
agreements currently negotiated in the Soviet Union do not determine
wages or working conditions.
Who determines the policy of these organisations—the union members themselves or a government or Party agency ? The Soviet Constitution of 1936, in article 126, establishes the monopolistic position of the
Soviet Communist Party and defines the Communist Party as " the
leading core of all organisations of the working people, both public and
State ". Trade unions are listed in the same article among " the public
organisations " authorised by the Constitution.
The submission of the trade unions to the orders of the Communist
Party was recognised in a statement by their President, Mr. V. V. Kuznetsov, in his report on the activities cf the Central Council of Soviet
Trade Unions : " In all their activities the trade unions unrelentingly
follow the directives of Lenin and Stalin on the role of trade unions.
The strength of the Soviet trade unions lies in the wise leadership by the
Soviet Communist Party and Comrade Stalin." 1
In the same vein, Mr. A. P. Osipov, Secretary of the Central Council,
declared : " The source of the strength of the trade unions and of their
authority among the large masses of manual and white-collar workers
is the fact that our glorious party of Bolsheviks day by day directs the
trade unions
The Soviet trade unions are proud and happy that
their entire activities are directed day by day by the Communist Party
and by that wise leader and teacher, the great Stalin." 3
In another issue of Trud, that of 11 May 1949, appears the following
passage : " The entire work of the trade unions is done under the leadership of the Communist Party—the organising and directing force of
Soviet society. The trade unions of the U.S.S.R. gather the working
masses around the Party of Lenin and Stalin."
Workers Tied to the Plant.
7. In order to form a true understanding of the contrast between
the worker and the convict, one has to consider the juridical aspects of
1
2

Trud (Moscow), 20 Apr. 1949.
Ibid., 27 Apr. 1949.

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

the conditions under which the ordinary Soviet Russian labourer works.
A plain answer to this question is to be found in the books Sovietskoe
Trudovoe Pravo [Soviet Labour Law] (Moscow, 1946) and Zakonodatelstvo o Trude [Labour Legislation] (Moscow, 1947), by N. G. Aleksandrov and his collaborators. Both these works were edited by the Institute
of Jurisprudence of the U.S.S.R. and published by the Ministry of Justice
of the Soviet Union, that is to say by the highest legal authorities of
Russia.
From these books it appears that in Soviet Russia all employees,
both workers and officials, are bound to their places of employment. A
decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet on 26 June 1940 declared
that nobody is allowed to leave his employment or apply for other work
without the consent of his employer. Any worker guilty of such a "crime"
of leaving his employment may be tried in a court of law and be subject
to imprisonment for up to four months; if the offender is employed
in a munitions factory, the sentence can run as high as eight years,
according to a decree of 26 December 1941. Punishment awaits employers
who give employment to or fail to take legal proceedings against those
who undertake to change their place of employment on their own account.
While workers and officials are completely bound to their places of
employment management has the power to transfer workers from one
factory to another anywhere in the entire country, with no right of
protest on the worker's part. Every worker and official is compelled to
have a labour book, according to the decree of 20 December 1938. The
book contains the dates of engagement and discharge and the reasons
for the latter; it remains in the possession of the board of directors of
the enterprise. When a worker is removed from one factory to another,
the labour book is sent directly to the new place of employment. The
worker receives his book only in case he has been granted permission to
leave. Workers who cannot present a fully correct labour book are not
allowed to be employed.
Children Are Deported for Apprenticeship and for Work.
8. Under these laws children may likewise be deported to different
places of employment and, through a contract, be bound to their
occupation. The decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of
2 October 1940, and its later supplements, declare that every year about
1 million boys and girls between the ages of 14 and 17 are to be compulsorily enrolled and sent to industrial schools for labour reserves.
Neither the children nor their parents are permitted to voice any complaints.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

The Role of the Foreman—Penalties against the Worker.
9. The dictatorial rule in Soviet factories is exercised by the foreman,
whose status is described in the decree of 27 May 1940. It criticises
those practices that do not give the foreman the right to distribute
manpower, to classify workers according to wage categories, to grant
premiums to or impose penalties upon his subordinates ; to have a voice
in the fixing of the " norms " (tasks) and to administer the wage fund
allotted to the section of the plant under his supervision. Section 4 of
the above-mentioned decree confers upon the foreman the right to
impose disciplinary penalties upon those who " violate " working
discipline and disorganise production.
The Model Disciplinary Rules, as worked out by the Central Council
of the Soviet Trade Unions and confirmed by the Council of the People's
Commissars on 18 January 1941, provide for the following penalties
for violation of working discipline: (a) warning; (b) reprimand;
(c) severe reprimand; (d) transfer to another job where wages are
lower for a period up to three months, or demotion to a lower position.
According to section 21 of the Model Rules, disciplinary penalties
are also imposed upon any worker " who is late in coming to work
without valid reason, or leaves his work to go to lunch too early, or is
late in returning after lunchtime, or is slack during working hours ".
This provision applies only to those who were less than 20 minutes late,
since anybody more than 20 minutes late is liable to criminal prosecution.
In addition, there exist in the Soviet Union special regulations
regarding the material liability of workers for damages and losses of
plant property for which they are made responsible. They give management the right to deduct from wages certain specific sums as compensation for losses and damages attributed to the workers.1 They provide
that workers must pay five times the value of the actual loss if any raw
materials, partly processed or manufactured goods,. tools, working
clothes, and other factory property entrusted to them, are lost or damaged
because of their negligence.
A decision of the plenary session of the Supreme Court of the U.S.S.R.
of 25 December 1941 stated—
If the violation of the working rules was committed by the employee in
order to obtain his dismissal in this manner, such acts must be regarded as a
peculiar kind of unauthorised abandonment of the job concomitant with an
attempt to avoid criminal prosecution; in view of this, in such cases the
employee is liable to criminal prosecution according to section 1 of article 5
1
N. G. ALEKSANDROV and D . N. GENKIN: Sovietskoe trudovoe pravo (Moscow,
1946), pp. 284-297. [This is the official text book on Soviet labour law.]

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

of the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the U.S.S.R. of
26 June 1940.1
Wages Are Dictated.
10. The individual worker has no say in the determination of his
wages. The foreman decides the wage rate for the individual worker
according to an official handbook which contains a classification of
the various jobs and indicates the corresponding wage categories. The
fixing of wages is described in the following paragraphs :
In effect, no diversity in the determination of wage systems and levels can
be admitted under the conditions of unified national economic planning. For
this reason, wages are regulated in our country in a centralised manner, by
the Government of the U.S.S.R., through appropriate normative acts (that is,
acts having the character of a binding legal rule) and not by contract. The
inviolability of this principle was emphasised by the decree of the Council
of Ministers of the U.S.S.R. of 4 February 1947, according to which it is
expressly forbidden to include in collective agreements any system of pay for
the work of manual workers, engineers, technicians and white-collar workers
which has not been approved by the Government.2
It is not surprising that, under these conditions, incentive pay has
become a device for anti-worker managerial practices. Piece-rate
cutting and speed-up methods are advocated and prescribed by the
highest authorities of the country. By fostering Stakhanovite methods,
certain workers are engaged to serve as " pace setters " in establishing
higher " norms " of work. In practice, the foreman's obligation to
revise piece-rates forces him to use " drive " methods.
Open Ballot.
11. It is worth mentioning that the constitutions of Soviet unions
have abolished the secret vote in the election of the so-called " Trade
Union Group " organisers. The group, numbering up to 20 members,
is the lowest unit of the Soviet trade unions. The group organiser is
the steward of such a unit. He is the basic link between the trade union
leader and the workers in the shop. From this it results that the trade
union representative most closely connected with the mass of the workers and most likely to be influenced by their real sentiment and desires
is not appointed by secret ballot.
12. These few examples, all taken from official Soviet publications,
show that trade unions, in the true sense of the words, do not exist in
the Soviet Union.
1

N. G. ALEKSANDROV and D. N. GENKIN: Sovietskoe trudovoe pravo, op. cit. p. 297.

G. MOSKALENKO: "Legal Problems of the Collective Agreement ", in Professionalnye Soyuzy [Trade Unions] (organ of the All-Union Central Council of Trade
Unions), No. 8, Aug. 1947, p. 16.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

Communication Dated 28 May 1952
13. This communication from the I.C.F.T.U. contains the following
allegations.
Absence of Genuine Trade Unions.
14. The Soviet Government has continued to violate fundamental
trade union rights, above all by denying to all workers of the Soviet
Union the right to voluntary association for the protection of their
interests. Although there exists a structure of organisations called
" trade unions ", these bodies do not perform the main function of
trade unions in the accepted sense of the word—defence of the rights,
the standards of living and the working conditions of the workers.
Instead, they are used by the state machinery as yet another organ of
labour supervision, of enforcement of labour discipline and, above all,
of driving the worker relentlessly to greater and greater exertions. As
no organisations of workers are allowed to exist, the workers' right to
form trade unions is in effect suppressed by the Soviet Government.
Speeches made by the leaders of the Soviet " trade unions ", articles in
Trud, the central organ of the " trade unions ", and resolutions adopted
at the Seventh Plenary Session of the All-Union Central Council of
Trade Unions, which wash eld in December 1951, provide abundant
proof that there is no trade union movement in the Soviet Union but
only organisations called upon to help the State and the Communist
Party to tax as heavily as possible the physical forces and endurance of
the working people.
Soviet Trade Unions Are Dominated by the Communist Party.
15. The domination of Soviet trade unions by the Communist Party
and the use of trade unions as a training ground for the Party are made
evident in the speeches which are delivered by Soviet trade union leaders.
For instance, Mrs. N. V. Popo va, Secretary of the All-Union Central
Council of Soviet Trade Unions, said : "As the school of communism,
Soviet trade unions are called upon to train the working people in the
spirit of the ideals of Lenin and Stalin." 1 The resolutions regarding
" the work of trade union activs 2 " adopted by the Seventh Plenary
Session of the All-Union Central Council of Soviet Trade Unions very
significantly begin with the following statement: "As the school of
1

Quoted from a translated report of 1951 meetings of the All-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions by U.S. News and World Report, 6 Apr. 1951.
2
In Soviet terminology the word " activ " means the militant elements of an
organisation.

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

communism, trade unions engage in their many-sided activity among
workers and employees under the leadership of the Communist Party." *
Soviet " Trade Unions " Are Not Concerned with Workers'" Living
Conditions.
16. In the reports on the Seventh Plenary Session of the All-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions, published by Trud, wage rates, hours
of work, methods of payment of wages and other conditions of employment were not mentioned. No mention was made of any plans for wage
bargaining made by the Council and no grievances in these matters
were considered. In the resolutions adopted by the Council and published
subsequently in Trud all these matters of vital importance to the worker
were not even touched upon. These matters are quite obviously not
within the scope of the so-called trade unions in the Soviet Union.
Strikes and Stoppages Are Not Permitted.
17. Soviet law does not provide for the right to strike. Stoppages
of production do sometimes occur, but, from whatever causes they
arise, they have nothing to do with trade unions and are dealt with
administratively. This was made quite clear in a speech by an outstanding leader of the Soviet trade unions, Mr. V. V. Kuznetsov,
President of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, who said
at the annual convention of Soviet trade unions last year : " The Government has charged ministries and departments not to permit stoppages
and excessive overtime work." 2
" Collective Agreements " in the Soviet Union.
18. It is true that collective agreements are entered into by the
Soviet " trade unions ", but these contracts do not deal with wages, hours
of work and other conditions of employment. Their aim is quite different.
They are the main means of placing on trade union organisations the
co-responsibility for the achievement of government production plans,
for enforcement of labour discipline in factories and workshops, for
increasing labour productivity and for the speed-up of work. A Trud
editorial of 16 January 1952 contains a description of the collective
agreements for the current year. The contracts provide in particular
for fulfilment and over-fulfilment of the State Economic Plan for 1952.
The 1952 contracts differ from the previous year's in paying particular
attention to qualitative production indices—improvement of products,
lowering of unit costs, careful use of materials, fuel and electric power
and perfection of production techniques. The contracts take account
1

Trud, 20 Dec. 1951.
Quoted from a translated report of 1951 meetings of the Central Council of
Trade Unions by U.S. News and World Report, 6 Apr. 1951.
2

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

of the rise in the technical level of industry and emphasise the further
development of " socialist competition " and the dissemination of
advanced experience.1
In whatever respects these new contracts differ from last year's,
one thing has remained unchanged: they are not agreements on wages
and other conditions of employment arrived at by collective bargaining.
In the decisions on the " fulfilment of collective agreements in railway
transport ", adopted by the Seventh Plenary Session of the AU-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions, the following instructions are to
be found:
In collective agreements special attention must be given to the further
development of socialist competition for the fulfilment and over-fulfilment of
the plans of every railway line for better utilisation of rolling stock, lowering
of unit costs, economy of fuel, electric power and materials. In the mutual
obligations must be included problems of intensification, of educational work
aiming at the strengthening of labour discipline, at introduction of new methods
and of advanced technology, together with the dissemination of experience of
innovators, at further increases in labour productivity and culture of production, at improvement in working conditions, as well as in housing and cultural
services for the workers.2
This list of items to be included in collective agreements is very
significant both for its admissions and for its omissions. The Seventh
Plenary Session of the AU-Union Central Council of Trade Unions
adopted also the following resolution:
The Plenary Session makes it obligatory for trade union organisations to
further the endeavours of trade union groups, departmental committees and
factory committees to develop socialist competition for the successful fulfilment
and overfulfilment of production plans, according to the established specifications and in required assortments, for improvement in the quality of products,
for the lowering of unit costs, for the economical use of materials and electric
power and for the full utilisation of the internal reserves (stocks) of enterprises.2
From these quotations it appears quite indisputable that " collective
agreements " in the Soviet Union are not the means of protecting
workers' wages and other conditions of employment through collective
bargaining. These contracts are a means of forcing on the trade unions
the responsibihty for driving the Soviet worker to continuously increasing
exertions. Once concluded, these agreements place the responsibihty
on the " trade unions " for the supervision of workers and especially
for the maintenance of discipline and the speeding-up of work. A
Trud editorial of 25 January 1952 makes this quite plain: " Mass checkups on the fulfilment of last year's collective contracts are being carried
1

Trud, 16 Jan. 1952; summary quoted from Current Digest of the Soviet Press
(Ann Arbor, Joint Committee on Slavic Studies), Vol. IV, No. 4, 8 Mar. 1952, p. 26.
' Trud, 20 Dec. 1951, p. 2.

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

out in enterprises and new collective contracts are being concluded.
It is the duty of trade union organisations to strive for unconditional
fulfilment of these collective contracts." x
True Trade Unionism is Denied the Right of Existence.
19. Trade union rights are continuously violated by the Soviet
Government. Soviet organisations which go by the name of trade
unions are not supposed to defend and, by their own confessions, do
not defend workers' living conditions, but are a means of driving the
worker to harder and harder work. There are no trade unions in the
accepted sense of the word in the Soviet Union. It is, therefore, clear
that the Soviet Government has been violating the fundamental trade
union rights, and even the right of trade unions to exist for the defence
of the workers' interests.
Communication Dated 7 October 1954
20. In this communication the I.C.F.T.U. makes the following
allegations :
Facts.
21. The Preamble to the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet
Trade Unions, adopted by the Tenth Congress of the Trade Unions of
the U.S.S.R. on 27 April 1949 and confirmed by the 11th Congress
(7-15 June 1954) declares that the Soviet trade unions, which are a social
and non-partisan organisation of the masses, unite on a voluntary
basis workers and employees of all occupations without distinction as
to race, nationality, sex or religion. The next paragraph of this Preamble
reads as follows : " The Soviet trade unions accomplish all their activities
under the direction of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, which
is the organising and directing force in Soviet society. The trade unions
of the U.S.S.R. range the masses of the workers behind the Party
"2
22. Article 126 of the Soviet Constitution, which refers to " public
organisations ", a term in which the trade unions are included, proves
that the Communist Party of the Soviet Union—
... is the leading core of all the organisations of the workers. The Constitution
and Rules of the Soviet Trade Unions confirm on many occasions that the
Soviet trade unions are a tool in the hands of the state administration. It
places in the forefront of Soviet trade union activities the organisation of
socialist emulation of the workers and employees for the maximum increase
of productivity, for the achievement and exceeding of plans drawn up by the
State, for constant progress in all branches of industry, transport and agriculture, for improvement of the quality of production and reduction in manu2
facturing costs
1
2

Current Digest of the Soviet Press, Vol. IV, No. 4, 8 Mar. 1952, p. 27.
Trud, 19 June 1954.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

23. At the 11th Congress of Soviet Trade Unions, the President of
the Soviet Trade Unions, Mr. Nicolas Shvernik, declared in his report
to the Congress that the Soviet trade unions had, during the period
under review, done considerable work in mobilising the workers and
employees to battle for the accomplishment and exceeding of national
economic plans. He declared also that the Central Committee of the
Party highly appreciated the part played by the trade unions as organisers and educators of the workers and had entrusted to the trade unions
extremely important tasks in the future development of the national
economy. He added that the Soviet trade unions must improve their
direction in the organisation of socialist competition to increase productivity and to ensure the carrying out of state plans in all undertakings.
According to the President of the Soviet trade unions the principal
task of the trade unions must be the continuous development of socialist
competition.1
24. An amendment to the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet
Trade Unions was adopted by the 11th Congress on the proposal of
Mrs. Popova, Secretary of the All-Union Central Council of Trade
Unions, who stated, among other things —
The present Constitution and Rules were adopted five years ago and it is
natural that they do not fully reflect the changes which have come about in
the practical work of the trade unions during the last few years and that they
do not define their increased tasks. The application of the policy of the Party
is the vital task of the Soviet trade unions. That is why it is necessary to
propose the following amendment to the Preamble to the Constitution and
Rules : " The trade unions take an active part in the State and the construction
of its economy in the preparation of laws dealing with production, labour,
living conditions, cultural problems and in working for the strict application
of these laws." 2
25. In the general resolution adopted by the 11th Congress of
Soviet Trade Unions, it is stated that the address sent to the 11th Congress
by the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Council
of Ministers of the U.S.S.R. constitutes a militant programme defining
all the functions of the Soviet trade unions under present conditions.
It is also indicated that " for the happy solution of the tasks entrusted
to the trade unions by the Party and the Government it is necessary
resolutely to improve the standard of trade union work at all levels ". 3
26. Collective agreements, which had been abolished in February
1933, were reintroduced in 1947. The Presidium of the All-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions with the approval of the Council of
1

Trud, 8 June 1954.
Pravda (Moscow), 13 June 1954.
a
Ibid., 16 June 1954.
2

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

Ministers of the U.S.S.R., announced in March 1947 the need for a
vast campaign with a view to the introduction of collective agreements
in industry, building and the merchant marine. As the President of
the Soviet Trade Unions stated, this campaign was introduced " on
the demand of Comrade Stalin " in order to stimulate the accomplishment and exceeding of economic plans.
27. The Soviet trade unions do not freely negotiate wages and
conditions of employment, as these are fixed by the state authorities.
Thus, the resolution of the Presidium of the All-Union Central Council
of Trade Unions concerning the reintroduction of collective agreements
required that piece-work rates, progressive piece-work rates and bonuses
as approved by the Government must be specified in collective agreements. The same resolution formally prohibits the inclusion in collective
agreements of rates which have not been approved by the Government.
If wage rates are included in a collective agreement, they are only the
application of the Government's plan for the accomplishment of which
the collective agreement has been drawn up. The first object of collective
agreements is, therefore, to define the specific tasks and obligations
devolving on the undertakings and on their staffs in the accomplishment of the Government's plan.
28. In his report to the 11th Congress of Soviet Trade Unions, the
President of the Soviet Trade Unions, Mr. Shvernik, declared that in a
number of undertakings collective agreements to ensure the accomplishment of the State Plan and to improve living conditions, etc., were
systematically ignored, and further that the accomplishment of the
great tasks confronting the Soviet people required the trade union
organisations to enhance the importance of collective agreements as a
means of organising the masses in the struggle to accomplish and
exceed the State Plan and to improve the material and cultural living
standards of the workers.
29. Article 16 of the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade
Unions provides that " the elected trade union organs choose their
president, their secretary and the members of their Presidium from
among their members by a public vote ". In March 1953, 24 hours
after the death of President Stalin, the Soviet radio annouced a reorganisation of the most important organs of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics; the appointment of Mr. Shvernik as President of the AllUnion Central Council of Trade Unions was one of these changes. This
decision was taken along with others by the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Council of Ministers of the
U.S.S.R. and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet meeting in joint

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

session. Even though this decision was later confirmed by the AU-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions and by the 11th Congress of Soviet
Trade Unions, it nevertheless constitutes a flagrant violation of the
Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade Unions and of their
independence.
30. Since June 1933 the Soviet trade unions have, from the legal
point of view, become a state organ. Thus, the Compilation of Laws
and Provisions of the Government of the U.S.S.R. (10 July 1933, N o . 40,
section 1, p . 449) contains the following stipulations:
238. Decisions of the Central Executive Committee of the Council
of Peopled Commissars and of the AU-Union Central Council of Trade Unions1
On the unification of the People's Labour Commissariat of the U.S.S.R.
and of the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.
Anticipating proposals of the occupational trade union organisations and
in order to bring about the better execution of the tasks devolving on the
People's Labour Commissariat of the U.S.S.R., the Central Executive Committee of the U.S.S.R., the Council of People's Commissars and the All-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions decides :
1. The People's Labour Commissariat, with all its local organs, including
the organs of social security, will merge with the central and regional
machinery of the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, the tasks
of the People's Labour Commissariat and of its organs devolving on the
All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.
2. The AU-Union Central Council of Trade Unions will submit to the Council
of People's Commissars of the U.S.S.R. within one month the draft of
the concrete measures (to be adopted) to put the present decision into
application.
KALININ,

President of the Central Executive Council of the U.S.S.R.
MOLOTOV,

President of the Council of People's Commissars of the U.S.S.R.
SHVERNIK,

Secretary of the AU-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.
Moscow, The Kremlin, 23 June 1933.1
Law.
31. The facts set forth above, together with those set forth in the
complaints from the I.C.F.T.U., dated 20 July 1950 and 28 May 1952,
afford sufficient proof that freedom of association does not exist in the
U.S.S.R. The workers of the U.S.S.R. are not able to constitute trade
union organisations of their own choice to express and reflect faithfully
their aspirations as workers.
l

Izvestia,

No. 158, 24 June 1933.

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

32. The trade union organisation at present existing in the U.S.S.R.
is absolutely contrary to the principles of the Declaration of Philadelphia
and the principles contained in international Conventions Nos. 87 and
98, as well as to the resolution concerning the independence of the
trade union movement adopted by the 35th Session of the International
Labour Conference.
33. The Soviet trade unions are, in reality, state organs responsible
for applying decisions taken by the Communist Party and the Council
of Ministers of the U.S.S.R. They do not fulfil the normal functions
of trade union organisations. They cannot be regarded as being representative of the workers of the U.S.S.R., who thus find themselves deprived
of the right to organise freely to defend their moral and material interests.
34. In conclusion, the complainant requests the Governing Body—
(1) to declare that the complaints made by the I.C.F.T.U. against the
Government of the U.S.S.R. with respect to the violation of freedom
of association merit further examination;
(2) to ask the Government of the U.S.S.R. to consent to these complaints'
being referred to the Fact-Finding and Conciliation Commission
on Freedom of Association.
ANALYSIS OF THE GOVERNMENT'S FIRST REPLY

35. In its reply dated 3 November 1954 the Government of the
U.S.S.R. presents its observations on the two communications of the
I.C.F.T.U., dated 20 July 1950 and 28 May 1952, which are analysed
in paragraphs 5 to 19 above.
36. The Government declares that the communications from the
leaders of the " International Confederation of Free Trade Unions "
concerning the alleged violation of trade union rights in the U.S.S.R.
are not in accordance with the facts; they are merely slanderous; they
are made for political purposes and bear no relation to the functions of
the International Labour Organisation.
37. The leaders of the I.C.F.T.U. cannot be unaware of the fact
that the Soviet trade unions are the freest democratic organisations in
the world and that, in the Soviet State, they have extensive rights, great
authority and much influence.
38. In the Soviet State, where the workers are in power, there is
not and could not be any possible basis for a violation of trade union
rights, nor for a persecution of trade unions such as occurs in some
capitalist countries.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

39. The trade unions of the U.S.S.R. are an entirely comprehensive,
non-party public organisation of wage earners and salaried employees
which bring together on a voluntary basis more than 40 million such
persons in all occupations without discrimination of race, nationality,
sex or religious convictions.
40. The extensive rights of the Soviet trade unions are guaranteed
by the Constitution of the U.S.S.R.
41. As non-party mass organisations the trade unions carry on
their work in accordance with their constitution, which was adopted
by the Congress of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R. Their democratic character finds its expression in the voluntary union of the workers and in
the holding of elections by secret ballot for works and local committees,
all the other trade union directing bodies, and for the choice of delegates
to conferences and meetings.
42. In accordance with the constitution of the trade unions, elections to works and local councils and elections of organisers and group
organisers take place each year. Elections to the central committee of
each trade union and to the regional, local and other bodies take place
every two years. The Congress of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R. meets
at least once every four years.
43. Decisions of the trade union organisations are taken by majority
vote ; no decision can be taken against the wishes and desires of the
majority. The members of the trade union have the right to nominate,
reject or criticise every candidate proposed for membership of trade
union directing bodies.
44. The trade unions of the U.S.S.R. administer social insurance.
In accordance with democratic principles, large numbers of workers
and salaried employees belonging to the trade unions take part in this
work.
45. The workers and salaried employees of the Soviet Union do
not pay any social insurance contributions, since these are paid for
them by the undertakings and institutions. The funds available for
social insurance are increasing year by year. In 1954 the sum devoted
to this purpose was 24,700 million roubles, i.e. 2.8 times as much as in
1940. The social insurance funds pay pensions and allowances, the cost
of workers' treatment at spas, the cost of children's holidays and similar
items. At the present time the trade unions administer a very large
number of sanatoria, prevention centres and rest homes. During the
period between the 10th and 11th Trade Union Congresses, 13 million
workers and salaried employees received treatment at sanatoria and
spas.

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

46. The trade unions take an active part in the development of
action to promote health; they concern themselves with the expansion
of works polyclinics, first-aid centres and hospitals; they maintain
constant supervision of the medical services for workers, employees and
the members of their families, and co-operate in improving these services.
More than a million doctors and ancillary medical personnel provide
the workers with free medical care.
47. The Soviet State allots very large sums of money for the further
improvement of the conditions of work of wage earners and salaried
employees. Extremely detailed and comprehensive legislation on labour
protection and industrial safety is in force in the U.S.S.R.
48. The trade unions maintain a constant watch over the application of labour legislation and strive to bring about any action required
to ensure safe and healthy working conditions in the undertakings. The
trade unions have about 1,300,000 public inspectors and members of
labour protection committees. The trade union technical inspectors have
far-reaching rights. They visit all undertakings without hindrance, and
express their views from the health and safety standpoint as to whether
new undertakings or workshops are ready to start operation. The
instructions of the technical inspectors for correction of breaches of
rules regarding labour protection are binding upon managements.
The technical inspectors may take appropriate action against heads of
undertakings, shop managers and foremen in case of failure to comply
with the laws to protect the workers' health.
49. The trade unions do a great deal to provide the workers with
cultural facilities and are active also in the fields of physical culture,
sport and travel.
50. The trade unions have about 9,500 clubs and cultural centres,
over 13,000 fixed libraries and a very large number of other cultural and
educational services in undertakings.
51. At the clubs and cultural centres over 2 million workers and
salaried employees participate free of charge in amateur artistic groups
of various kinds where they can develop their talents and abilities. The
regular repertoire of these groups includes the best works of Russian
and foreign literature, drama, music and folklore.
52. Millions of members of the trade unions take part in physical
culture and sports. The trade unions own more than 4,000 stadiums,
sports clubs and grounds, and aquatic sport and skiing centres. All
these facilities are made available free of charge to the trade union

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

members. Utilisation of sporting equipment and engagement in physical
culture under qualified trainers and instructors are also free of charge.
53. In the Soviet Union the exploitation of man by man, unemployment in the cities and poverty in the villages have been abolished once
and for all. The position of the working class has been radically changed :
formerly oppressed and exploited, it is now the ruling and directing class.
54. In the conditions of Soviet society, where men work not to
enrich a handful of capitalists but for their community, for themselves,
the workers are extremely active and show creative initiative in carrying
out and exceeding the production plans.
55. Soviet people know that, the more output is raised, the more
quality is improved and production costs cut down, the more rapidly
will the income of the workers be increased and prices of goods and
products reduced; the more rapidly also will budgetary appropriations
for health, education, housing and social security be augmented and
the standard of living of the people grow higher.
56. This is the reason why in the Soviet Union socialist emulation,
which started in the first years of the Soviet régime, has now become a
nation-wide movement aimed at increasing labour for society. This is
the reason too why the Soviet trade unions, genuinely representing the
interests of the workers, take a vigorous part in organising socialist
emulation, and organise and actively participate in socialist construction.
57. The rapid progress of labour productivity and the improvement
of quality co-efficients in Soviet undertakings have come not as a result
of physical effort but thanks to the rationalisation and perfection of
production methods and by means of the new techniques which are
constantly^being introduced in the factories, mills, mines and construction sites.
58. The Soviet worker sees in the machine not an enemy driving
him out of the plant to swell the ranks of the unemployed but a friend
who makes his work easier. So it is that the workers themselves are
constantly concerned with invention and rationalisation, and constantly
improve their own tools and equipment. The foremen give active help
to workers in this respect. In a socialist undertaking the interests of
foremen and workers are identical: they are working for themselves.
The foreman is not content to organise production, but also helps the
worker to improve his skill and to carry out the tasks entrusted to him;
the foreman deals with labour protection and safety technique, introduces a better organisation of work and higher earnings. Whereas
under capitalist conditions the foreman acts for the capitalists in his

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

exploitation of the working class, the foreman in a Soviet undertaking
belongs to the undivided community of workers.
59. The trade unions help the wage earners and salaried employees
to improve their occupational skills by organising various courses and
study programmes at the expense of the undertaking. In the Soviet
State workers and juveniles do not have to pay for technical education
and training. A comprehensive system of schools and courses is provided
for them in the undertakings, and they may thus acquire skills and
improve their qualifications free of charge.
60. A large number of vocational schools, factory schools, and
technical and agricultural schools and colleges have been established
for this purpose in the U.S.S.R. Students at such schools are instructed
free of charge. The Government provides them with free food, lodging,
clothing and footwear. During the summer holidays, rest homes in
the country are arranged for them, and the trade unions send participants
to sanatoria and rest homes. When the young workers have completed
their training, all obtain work in accordance with the skills and qualifications which they have acquired. This explains why young people spontaneously enter these schools and are very glad to do so.
61. The trade unions of the U.S.S.R. constantly strive to secure
a further improvement in the material well-being, the cultural level and
the conditions of fife of wage earners and salaried employees.
62. The continuous rise in the national income is a sure sign of
the increasing well-being of the workers. Whereas in capitalist countries
more than half the national income is held in the grip of the exploiting
classes, the entire national income of the Soviet Union belongs to the
workers. To satisfy their personal material and cultural needs, the workers of the U.S.S.R. receive about three-quarters of the national income;
and the remainder is used to increase socialist production and for
other national and communal purposes.
63. Real wages are constantly rising in the U.S.S.R.: the systematic
lowering of prices of mass consumption goods and products is the
main reason for this. As the result of seven successive reductions, retail
prices of mass consumption goods now stand at 2.4 times less than the
level in 1947, when the first reduction took place.
64. In the Soviet Union wages are not the only material benefits
which the workers receive. The State spends thousands of millions of
roubles to provide for the cultural and material needs of the workers
without cost to them, for their schooling, health care, social insurance
and living expenses during study, as well as other allowances and ad-

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

vantages. During the year 1953 these payments and free services to
the population represented a total sum more than three times as high
as the corresponding figure for 1940.
65. The real wages of the wage earners and salaried employees of
the U.S.S.R. increased by 65 per cent, between 1940 and 1953; or, if
account is taken also of the increase in state expenditure on cultural
and collective material services for the population, the total income of
workers and employees increased by 89 per cent, during this same
period.
66. In order to improve the workers' conditions of life, the trade
unions of the U.S.S.R. effect public, popular supervision of the execution
of construction projects for housing, cultural and community purposes,
the improvement of workers' canteens, shops, communal institutions
and city transport services ; they participate in the allocation of accommodation in houses belonging to undertakings and institutions.
67. In 1953 the total capital invested in housing construction was
almost four times as great as in 1940; and in 1954 the capital invested
will have increased by 35 per cent, as compared with 1953. During the
post-war years, 183 million square metres of housing space have been
built and occupied, in addition to crèches and kindergartens providing
places for over 240,000 children; and 856 scout holiday centres and many
other cultural and social institutions have been constructed.
68. These facts and figures are eloquent proof of the very great
effort which is being made in the Soviet State to raise the standard of
living of the workers, and of the constant improvement in the material
well-being and cultural level of the people. By their activity the trade
unions contribute largely to these achievements.
69. In accordance with their constitutions the trade unions take
an active part in the drafting of laws concerning labour, material and
cultural questions, and in determining payment systems and fixing
wage scales. They conclude collective agreements with the directors
of undertakings.
70. These agreements deal with all questions concerning operations
in the undertaking, the material and social conditions of wage earners
and salaried employees, and the cultural services provided for them.
71.
carried
taking
other.

Negotiations for the conclusion of collective agreements are
out by the representatives of the management of the underon the one hand and representatives of its personnel on the
The agreements regulate conditions of work for wage earners

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

and salaried employees, the level of wages, etc. Collective agreements
are designed to secure further improvement in the material position of
the wage earners and salaried employees, improvement in the cultural
and social services provided for them, and establishment of safe and
healthy working conditions. The agreements also stipulate the provision
of rest for wage earners and salaried employees, access for them to rest
homes, sanatoria, tourist centres, etc. For workers with families, the
collective agreements provided for the accommodation of the children
in crèches, kindergartens and similar institutions, if the parents themselves wish this to be done and to the extent and at the time which they
desire.
72. The collective agreements also provide for funds to be allotted
to housing construction for wage earners and salaried employees and
to the building of clubs and other cultural and educational institutions.
73. The wage earners and salaried employees take a most active
part in the determination of all these provisions of the collective agreements. At their general meetings questions relating to the conclusion
of the agreements are discussed; wage earners and salaried employees
put forward their demands quite freely, and these serve to guide their
representatives during the negotiations with the management. Wage
earners and salaried employees may also make proposals at meetings
of their representatives who are to negotiate the agreements. The
questions raised and the wishes expressed by the workers regarding
the collective agreements are freely discussed in the press, and members
of the personnel criticise the progress of negotiations in the papers if
this is necessary. The negotiations are carried on freely and openly and
each worker can comment on them.
74. Every year the collective agreements are concluded afresh in
each undertaking and take into account any new wishes expressed by
the wage earners and salaried employees.
75. The establishment of a powerful multi-national Soviet State,
the industrialisation of the country and the collectivisation of agriculture,
the building of socialism, the reinforcement of the moral and political
unity of socialist society and the friendship of the peoples of our countries
for each other, the victory of the U.S.S.R. over fascism during the Second
World War, the economic and cultural progress, the increase in the
material well-being of the Soviet people, have been achieved in our
country under the direction of the Communist Party.
76. The historical experience acquired over many years has convinced the workers of the U.S.S.R. that of all the political parties which

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

have existed in this country only the Communist Party is really a party
of the people, expressing the workers' vital interests. By its activity,
the Party has won the love and confidence of the entire Soviet people.
77. This is the reason why the trade unions of the U.S.S.R., uniting
enormous masses of workers in their ranks, regard the Communist
Party as their guide and organiser in the struggle for the prosperity
of the Soviet State and the happiness of the peoples of our country.
78. Many delegations of foreign workers visit the Soviet Union.
Their own eyes convince them of the real freedom and broad democratic
rights enjoyed by the Soviet trade unions in the course of their work.
Such delegations, when they return home, speak and write of all these
things.
79. In conclusion the Government declares that slanders regarding
alleged violation of trade union rights in the U.S.S.R. are uttered by
the I.C.F.T.U. in order to lead the workers astray and to distract their
attention from the fact that in many capitalist countries there is arbitrary
action by the police and the monopolies, trade union liberty is violated,
the standard of living and the rights of the workers are being attacked,
and anti-labour laws such as the Taft-Hartley Act and the like are being
introduced. This step by the I.C.F.T.U. is aimed at breaking up the
international unity of the working class and undermining the activity
of the International Labour Organisation.
REQUEST FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

80. At its 11th Session (February 1955) the Committee, having
examined the reply of the Government of the U.S.S.R. and the various
legislative and statutory texts relating to the questions raised in the
I.C.F.T.U. complaint and in the Government's reply, decided in accordance with the normal procedure to request the Government to furnish
further information on a number of questions which appeared to the
Committee to be of particular importance to its examination of the case.
The Committee's request was conveyed to the Government of the
U.S.S.R. by the Director-General by a letter dated 12 March 1955,
the text of which is as follows :
(Translation)
Sir,
With reference to my letters No. TUR. 1-64 of 2 September and 25 October
1954, with which I forwarded to you for your observations three communications from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions alleging
violation of trade union rights in the U.S.S.R., I have the honour to inform

2 3 R D REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE O N FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

you that these communications, together with the observations which you
were good enough to communicate to me in your letter of 3 November 1954,
were submitted to the Committee on Freedom of Association of the Governing Body of the International Labour Office at its last session, which was held
in Geneva from 23 to 25 February 1955.
The Committee wished to thank your Government for its observations,
but considered that it required certain further information from your Government before formulating its recommendations to the Governing Body.
In the Committee's view such information should relate to the following
points:
(1) Before considering this case the Committee assembled the main
legislative and statutory provisions relating to the questions raised in the
complaint of the I.C.F.T.U. and in the reply from the Government of the
U.S.S.R. These provisions are listed in the Appendix to this letter. The
Committee is anxious to base its decision on the most reliable documentation
possible and has requested me to ask you to be good enough to inform it
whether there are any errors or gaps in this material and, if so, to be good
enough to indicate the necessary corrections or additions. The Committee
also expressed the wish to be informed whether the 1954 Collective Agreement
for the Stalin Automobile Factory in Moscow is a typical example of collective
agreements currently pertaining in the U.S.S.R. If not, the Committee would
be glad if you would indicate in what respects the agreement is not typical
and provide texts of other collective agreements regarded as typical.
(2) Section 152 of the Labour Code provides that " the trade unions
(industrial unions) organised in accordance with the principles drawn up by
the competent congresses of these organisations shall not be liable to registration with state institutions as prescribed for associations and unions in general
but shall be registered with the central federations of unions to which they
are affiliated in accordance with the conditions prescribed by the Union
Congresses of Trade Unions ".
Section 153 of the Labour Code adds that " other associations not registered
with central federations of unions under section 152 shall not be entitled to
style themselves trade unions (industrial unions), nor to claim the rights of
such unions ".
The Committee wishes to know whether under Soviet regulations only
trade unions affiliated to the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions
have legal status and whether, as a result, unregistered organisations are
illegal.
(3) Article 12 of the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade Unions
provides that " all trade union bodies from the bottom up are elected by the
membership and accountable to it ".
Article 16 provides that "all trade union directing bodies, and also delegates to trade union conferences and congresses, are elected by secret ballot ".
In view of the fact that the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions, in its communication of 7 October 1954, forwarded to the Government of the U.S.S.R. with my letter of 25 October 1954, cites a Soviet radio
announcement broadcast in March 1953 to the effect that the President of
the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions had been appointed by the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Council
of Ministers of the U.S.S.R. and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, meeting
in joint session, the Committee wishes to know whether the principle of free
election of trade union leaders applies to all ranks in the trade union hierarchy
and in particular to the office of President of the All-Union Central Council
of Trade Unions.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

(4) The Preamble to the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade
Unions provides that " the Soviet trade unions, which are mass non-party
public organisations, unite on a voluntary basis workers and other employees
of all occupations without distinction of race, nationality, sex or religious
beliefs, " but also provides that " the Soviet trade unions conduct all their
activities under the guidance of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ".
The Committee wishes to be informed of the supervisory machinery
provided for under this provision in order to be in a position to judge whether
it is designed in such a way as to safeguard the independence and autonomy
of the Soviet trade union movement.
(5) The decree of 23 June 1933, supplemented by the decree of 10 September 1933, provides for the fusion of the People's Labour Commissariat with
the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R.
Noting that functions which were previously entrusted to the People's
Labour Commissariat were thereby transferred to the All-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions, the Committee wishes to know what role is played
by the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions among the directing
bodies in the U.S.S.R., and in particular the status of the President of the
All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions: is he entrusted with all the
functions and does he enjoy all the privileges which previously pertained to
the People's Labour Commissar?
(6) In article 4, where the privileges of trade union members are defined,
the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade Unions provide, inter alia,
that trade union members receive benefits out of the state social insurance
funds in a larger amount than do non-members.
The Committee wishes to know whether there is such a difference of
treatment with respect to social security as between trade union and nontrade union workers that it might be interpreted as indirect coercion of workers
to belong to a trade union. In this connection the Committee also wishes to
know what is the percentage of workers in trade unions in relation to the
total number of workers in the Soviet Union.
(7) The Preamble to the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade
Unions provides that " the trade unions take an active part in the political
and economic life of the country, in the drafting of laws concerned with
production, labour, living conditions and culture ".
The Committee wishes to know whether the trade unions have participated
in the drafting of all social legislation, including, for example, the laws dealing
with forced labour, labour discipline, etc.; the manner of such participation;
and the nature of their observations in this connection.
(8) The Preamble to the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade
Unions provides that " the trade unions take part in planning and regulating
wages and in framing systems of pay in accordance with the socialist principle
of payment by the amount and quality of work performed ".
In view of the fact that in the U.S.S.R. the Wage Funds are determined in
accordance with the State Plan, whereas in many other countries wages and
other conditions of employment are fixed by free bargaining, this being an
essential function of the occupational associations, the Committee wishes to
know (a) through what machinery and at what stages the trade unions take
part in framing and applying wage regulations, and (b) what means they
have of, where necessary, bringing influence to bear on government decisions
in the matter of wages and conditions of employment.
(9) The Model Regulations relating to internal works rules in Soviet
undertakings approved by the decree of 18 January 1941 provide in article 26
that " in the event of unjustifiable absence, workers and employees are brought

2 3 R D REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE O N FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

before the courts in accordance with the decree of the Presidium of the
Supreme Soviet dated 26 June 1940 ".
The Committee wishes to know whether in the event of workers, collectively
stopping work in support of their claims a trade union could back such a
stoppage without laying the workers open to the above-quoted sanctions and
without running the risk of having its registration revoked.
It is highly desirable that the Committee should at its next session, which
will be held in Geneva on 23 May 1955, have before it your Government's
additional observations on these various points. I would therefore be most
grateful if you would be good enough to communicate such observations to
me at the earliest possible date and not later than 15 April 1955.
I have the honour to be, etc.,
David A. MORSE,

Director-General.
81. The list of the legislative and other texts available to the Committee which was appended to the aforesaid letter to the Government
of the U.S.S.R. is contained in Appendix I to this report. 1

ANALYSIS OF THE GOVERNMENT'S F U R T H E R OBSERVATIONS

82. T h e Government of the U.S.S.R. forwarded further observations to the Director-General by a letter dated 5 November 1955, the
text of which is as follows :
(Translation)
Details of the activities and extensive rights of trade unions in the U.S.S.R.
were contained in a letter to the Director-General of the I.L.O. dated 3 November 1954.
The Committee on Freedom of Association nevertheless wishes to receive
certain additional information, in connection with which it has asked a number
of questions.
The following information is communicated in reply to the questions put
by the Committee on Freedom of Association in the Director-General's letter.
(1) An Appendix to the above-mentioned letter lists a number of legislative
and statutory provisions. Several of them have become obsolete or have been
amended; thus, article 126 of the Constitution of the U.S.S.R. has been
amended, article 5 of the decree dated 26 June 1940 has been repealed, and
corresponding amendments have been made to paragraphs 25 and 26 of the
Model Regulations relating to internal works rules. It should furthermore
be borne in mind that it would be mistaken to select only articles 125 and 126
from among all those contained in the Soviet Constitution, since the position
of the trade unions cannot be considered in isolation from the general position
and rights of workers in the Soviet Union. Chapters I, X and XI of the Constitution of the U.S.S.R. are fully relevant to this problem of the position and
rights of Soviet workers.
In the Soviet Union, where the means of production (factories, works,
mines, railways, etc.) are public property, and where all power is in the hands
of the working people, the membership of the trade unions consists of workers
1

See below, p. 79.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

who are the masters of their own country. Workers in the Soviet Union are
employed in publicly owned undertakings, where production is subordinate
to the interests of the workers themselves. This being so, the trade unions,
whose membership consists of workers who are free from exploitation, engage
in many and varied activities, whose purpose is to ensure a steady improvement
in the welfare of the people as a whole and the constant betterment of the
material and cultural circumstances of the working population. Their activities
are undertaken in full freedom ; this is natural enough because they are an
organisation of the working people, in whose hands has been concentrated
every element of power.
As far as collective agreements in the Soviet Union are concerned, it should
be remembered that they represent a bilateral commitment. A detailed description of the type of relations that exist between the parties to agreements in
the Soviet Union was contained in our letters dated 3 November 1954 and
10 August 1955.
In the U.S.S.R. the workers are employed in publicly owned undertakings,
where production is subordinate to the interests of the workers themselves.
For this reason, collective agreements commit the parties both in respect of
questions of production and also in respect of further improvements to the
working conditions, material welfare and cultural circumstances of the
employees.
The draft of a collective agreement is drawn up jointly by trade union
representatives and representatives of management in the light of any special
features of production and employment in the undertaking. Before being
signed the collective agreement is discussed at workshop and general meetings
of the wage-earning and salaried employees concerned, who carefully consider
the draft text, criticise it freely and put forward their own amendments and
additions. As far as the content is concerned each undertaking prepares its
own agreement, which is different from those prepared by other undertakings
and reflects the requirements of the workers and of the undertaking itself.
The collective agreements concluded in each Soviet undertaking are individual in character, this is also true of the collective agreement concluded in
the Stalin Factory, which is comparable only in structure and in form with
those concluded in other undertakings in the automobile construction industry.
(2) In conformity with the interests of the working people, and in order
to develop the organisational initiative and political activity of the masses of
the people, article 126 of the Soviet Constitution guarantees citizens of the
U.S.S.R. the right to unite in public organisations, including trade unions,
co-operative societies, youth organisations, and so on.
The letter refers to articles 152 and 153 of the Labour Code of the R.S.F.S.R.
These articles guarantee the right of workers to become affiliated to trade
unions and also safeguard the freedom of action of the unions themselves.
They are in fact the concrete expression of the basic rights of Soviet citizens,
as embodied in the Soviet Constitution.
Article 152 of the Labour Code of the R.S.F.S.R. lays down that the
trade unions, as freely operating public bodies, shall not be liable to registration with state institutions, and by so doing emphasises their independence
of the Government.
The very fact that Soviet trade unions are not liable to registration with
state institutions testifies to the advantages and freedoms they enjoy. Moreover, neither articles 152 and 153 of the Labour Code nor any other clauses
require them to become affiliated to the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade
Unions, with the result that the possibility of other trade union organisations'
existing is not at all excluded.

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

(3) The Committee refers to a communication from the International
Confederation of Free Trade Unions, dated 7 October 1954, in which it is
asserted that the President of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions
was appointed to his post in March 1953 by a joint meeting of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Council of
Ministers of the U.S.S.R. and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the
U.S.S.R.
In fact, however, the Ordinance on the subject recommended his appointment as President of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.
The President of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions was
elected at the 10th Plenary Meeting of the All-Union Central Council of
Trade Unions held in March 1953, and was re-elected in June 1954 at the
first Plenary Meeting of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions after
its election at the 11th Trade Union Congress. No appointment of a President
ever took place, and there was naturally no notification of any such appointment.
The principle of free election is applied in the Soviet Union to the election
of all trade union leaders, including the President of the AU-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions.
(4) The Committee refers to a provision in the Constitution and Rules
of the Soviet Trade Unions which states that " trade unions conduct all their
activities under the guidance of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union ",
and wishes to be informed of the " supervisory machinery provided for under
this provision ". The Committee's attention is invited to the following facts.
This particular clause in the Rules of the trade unions of the U.S.S.R.
makes no provision for any supervision whatsoever. The guidance of trade
union activities by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is effected by
the Party through its members, who are at the same time members of the
unions. This guidance by the Party has been voluntarily accepted by the unions
as a circumstance having its origins in history; the point is that the policy of
the Communist Party is in keeping with the vital interests of the Soviet working
population. Nor should it be forgotten that, unlike the unions in the West,
the trade unions in Russia were formed after the creation of a workers' party
and around that party.
The vast majority of the non-party members of a union take an active
part in all the activities of the union and of the authorities that it elects at
different levels. The election of trade union authorities is an expression of
the will of all the members of the union, and naturally, when union members
of the party are elected side by side with non-party members of the union,
this merely serves to confirm the high moral standing of the Party with the
unions. The executive authorities of Soviet trade unions are not only elected
at all levels but are also answerable at all levels to the groups of persons that
elect them. Periodically they report back on their activities to trade union
meetings, conferences and congresses, where every member of the union and
every person present at the meeting has the right to criticise their work—a
right of which extensive use is made.
The Committee is naturally aware that this connection of trade unions with
political parties is not by any means exceptional. In the United Kingdom, for
example, the organisation of the unions is connected with the Labour Party,
and some such form of connection is to be found in many other countries.
(5) In 1933, after the People's Commissariat of Labour of the U.S.S.R.
had been abolished, some of its responsibilities for the supervision of working
conditions and the operation of social services for workers were taken over
by the unions, with the result that the rights and duties of the unions, as public
bodies representing the mass of the working population, were extended. The
responsibilities taken over by the unions included the management of the social

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

insurance scheme and the general supervision of the protection of labour in
undertakings. Repeated references have already been made to the extensive
activities of the unions in these fields (see, more especially, the above-mentioned letter dated 3 November 1954). The other economic and administrative
responsibilities of the People's Commissariat of Labour are at present being
discharged by various governmental institutions.
State responsibility for supervising the work of ministries and government
departments and for improving their achievements in the field of wages and
employment has been assigned to the State Wages and Employment Committee of the Council of Ministers of the U.S.S.R., set up at the end of May 1955.
The Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions is the highest authority
in the hierarchy of the trade unions, as voluntary organisations of the working
population, and no governmental attributes can be assigned to it. This,
moreover, is evident from the Constitution of the U.S.S.R., which makes no
provision for the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions when listing
the organs of state power and state administration. The same applies to the
position of the President of the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions,
who is the elected head of the highest elected trade union authority, and his
status has naturally nothing in common with that of the head of an administrative or governmental institution.
(6) In the Soviet Union the entire responsibility for managing the social
insurance scheme is at present vested in the unions; it is a well-known fact
that such an association in the management of social insurance is being claimed
and fought for at the present time by the trade unions of many countries.
The Soviet trade unions disburse enormous sums of money as part of social
insurance on the provision of social services for workers; these include the
payment of temporary disability benefits, in respect of which a certain distinction is made as between members and non-members of the unions. This
distinction, however, does not extend to the other forms of social security and
social services and cannot in any way be regarded as an indirect form of
coercion applied to induce workers to become affiliated to a union.
As public bodies representing the mass of the working population, the
Soviet trade unions organise all types of wage-earning and salaried employees
on a strictly voluntary basis, without distinction as to race, nationality, sex
or religious conviction. No direct or indirect form of coercion is applied to
induce workers to become affiliated to a union.
As a result of their great efforts to improve the working conditions, material
welfare and cultural standards of the working population, the trade unions
enjoy considerable authority among wage earners and salaried employees,
who are keen to become affiliated members and take an active part in union
activities. The vast majority of persons employed in Soviet undertakings
(40,420,000 on 1 January 1954) are consequently members of a union, as may
be seen from the published documents of the 11th Trade Union Congress and
various other papers.
(7) Soviet trade unions take an active part in the drafting of laws concerned
with questions of production, labour, living conditions and culture. It follows
from the socialist nature of the Soviet State, as a genuinely democratic people's
State, that labour laws and regulations are adopted by the Supreme Soviet
of the U.S.S.R. and by the Soviet Government in consultation with the unions.
The unions themselves are entitled to submit draft texts to the Council of
Ministers of the U.S.S.R.—a right of which they make extensive use. Further
evidence of their association in such matters may be found in their submission
of comments on draft texts concerned with questions of production, labour,
living conditions and culture. In many cases, the drafts are discussed within the
unions before the comments are submitted on behalf of the All-Union Central

2 3 R D REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

Council of Trade Unions. The unions are free to submit such comments on
draft laws and regulations as they consider necessary and appropriate to the
interests of the working population.
In the Soviet Union there are naturally no laws " dealing with forced
labour ", because there neither is nor can be any ground for forced labour
in any shape or form. In accordance with the Soviet Constitution, which
guarantees the right to work, every Soviet citizen has the chance to apply
his efforts to any branch of the country's economic, cultural, public or political
life, according to his wishes and abilities. The labour of Soviet citizens, who
are masters in their own country, is the genuinely free labour of persons who
are free from exploitation.
(8) The Soviet trade unions take an active part in planning and regulating
the remuneration of wage-earning and salaried employees, and in drafting
laws on questions of production, labour, living conditions and culture. They
also strive to ensure that such laws are strictly implemented.
All governmental ordinances relating to wages and other questions of
concern to the working population are drawn up in concert with the unions
and are adopted with the approval of the All-Union Central Council of Trade
Unions.
The Soviet trade unions fully avail themselves of these rights and possibilities. Wage rates are fixed by agreement with the AU-Union Central Council
of Trade Unions and the central committees of the branch unions, i.e. with
authorities that are the elected representatives of the workers belonging to
the unions. In addition, piece rates are fixed and applied by agreement
between the management of the undertaking and the elected factory or works
committee of the union.
The practice of dealing with problems of wage rates at the level of the central
committees of the branch unions is conducive to standard conditions of
employment in the undertakings in a given branch, all of which are socialist
undertakings under public ownership. It should be borne in mind in this
connection that in many Western countries the trade union movement is
fighting for the right to settle wage questions by negotiation for each branch
of industry in its entirety, and in some countries has already won this right.
(9) The letter states that article 26 of the Model Regulations relating to
internal works rules lays down that, in the event of unjustifiable absence,
workers and employees are brought before the courts in accordance with the
decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. dated 26 June
1940.
The first point to be borne in mind in this connection is that article 5 of
the decree of 26 June 1940 is not in force at present, and that paragraphs 25
and 26 of the Model Regulations have been suitably amended.
Furthermore, a collective stoppage of work is not, and never has been,
regarded an absenteeism, and Soviet law does not provide, nor has it ever
provided, for any penalties to be imposed for a collective stoppage of work,
where called by the workers in support of their demands.
There is no reason for surprise at the absence of strikes in the Soviet
Union, because the workers have every possibility of obtaining satisfaction
in other ways—through production meetings and through the governmental
and legislative authorities whose membership consists of workers' representatives.
Such labour disputes as may arise between individual workers or employees
and the managements of undertakings are examined ; moreover, the procedure

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

followed in examining them is such that the trade union organisation has a
great, and often a decisive, influence on the way the case is considered and
decided. One of the main institutions for the examination of labour disputes
is the works assessment and disputes committee, which offers a guarantee that
the workers' or employees' grievances against the management will be considered rapidly and fairly. An assessment and disputes committee consists of
an equal number of representatives of management on the one hand and of
the works union committee on the other. What is more, the committee's
decisions can be carried only if the trade union representatives agree.
The work of these works assessment and disputes committees is supervised
by the higher trade union organisations—the regional, territorial and central
trade union committees. On receipt of a complaint from the workers, they
can quash the decisions taken by the works assessment and disputes committees.
Every worker has the right to transmit a labour dispute involving claims of
any kind to a people's court for its consideration, if the decision of the assessment and disputes committee has been quashed, if the dispute has not been
settled after coming before the assessment and disputes committee, or even
if the committee has not considered the dispute.
After visiting the U.S.S.R., many trade union leaders from capitalist
countries have recognised the genuinely representative and democratic nature
of Soviet trade union activities.
As an instance, the leader of the British Trades Union Congress, Sir
Walter Citrine, made the following statement at a meeting of the Executive
Bureau of the W.F.T.U., held in Moscow in June 1946:
Turning to the Soviet trade union movement, we have always had
confidence in the ability of the Soviet trade unions not only to safeguard
the interests of their members but also to assist their country and the
working class throughout the world, whatever dangers faced them.
In the official report of the delegation of the American C.I.O. which
visited the Soviet Union in October 1945, and which consisted of workers in
positions of authority in the organisation, it is stated:
We were impressed by the character of the Soviet trade unions and by
their magnificent and many-sided activities in defence of the workers'
interests in the economic sphere and in the sphere of social welfare and
cultural facilities. We were also impressed by their far-reaching social
insurance scheme, which is designed to defend the workers and their
families against all the risks that are likely to beset them from the cradle
to the grave.
In the preface to this report the former President of the C.I.O., Mr. Philip
Murray, wrote as follows:
I regard this report as a document of prime importance, not only to
American workers but also to anyone who wishes to know the truth
about the Soviet trade unions and help establish friendship and understanding between the peoples of both countries. Unfortunately there are
people who prefer to sow the seeds of suspicion and distrust, transform
social and cultural differences into an insurmountable barrier, and seek
to divide the world rather than unite it.
These comments on the work of Soviet trade unions represented the
viewpoint of the leaders of such organisations as the American C.I.O. and the
British T.U.C. This viewpoint was based on a direct acquaintance with Soviet
reality and the life of the Soviet trade unions.

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

There has been no change in the role of the trade unions in the U.S.S.R.
since these words were spoken or written. All that has changed is the approach
of certain persons and their assessment of this role, which has become one of
the elements in the " cold war ".
The International Labour Organisation cannot sanction the " cold war "
in any of its manifestations. It must help to establish mutual understanding
and confidence between the nations.

OTHER COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF THE U.S.S.R.
RELATING TO THE QUESTIONS RAISED IN THE

I.C.F.T.U.

COMPLAINT

83. In paragraph (1) of the communication of 5 November 1955
cited above, the Government of the U.S.S.R. refers to a communication
dated 10 August 1955 in which, in accordance with article 19 of the
Constitution of the I.L.O., it had submitted a report concerning the
effect given in the U.S.S.R. to the provisions of the Right to Organise
and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) and the Collective
Agreements Recommendation, 1951 (No. 91).
84. The Committee also had before it two other communications
from the Government of the U.S.S.R. dated 6 November 1955 and 12
January 1956 which had been addressed to the Committee on Freedom
of Employers' and Workers' Organisations. The passages from these
three communications which relate to the questions raised in the
I.C.F.T.U. complaint and which supplement the observations of the
Government of the U.S.S.R. thereon analysed above, are reproduced
below.
85. The communication of 10 August 1955 contains the following
passages to which the Government makes reference in its reply dated
5 November 1955 and which relate to the binding bilateral commitments
assumed under collective agreements concluded in Soviet undertakings:
The collective agreement, which constitutes a bilateral commitment for
the management of the undertaking, on the one hand, and the union (as the
representative of the body of wage earners and salaried employees) on the
other, is registered with the appropriate ministry and the central committee
of the trade union concerned....
The management of the undertaking and the heads of the appropriate
departments incur disciplinary responsibility for any failure to discharge their
commitments under a collective agreement. In the event of any wilful infringement of the agreement, the guilty members of management may be held
criminally liable under article 134 of the Penal Code of the R.S.F.S.R. and
the corresponding articles of the Penal Codes of the Union Republics. By
contrast, any commitments entered into by the works union committee on
bshalf of the wage earners and salaried employees to give the management

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

their backing in taking any steps for which the collective agreement makes
provision are of a social and moral character and do not entail for the trade
unions or the wage earners and salaried employees any legal responsibility.
While an undertaking, as a body corporate, is materially responsible for
the liabilities in respect of property undertaken by the management, occupational organisations do not, under article 20 of the Labour Code of the
R.S.F.S.R. and the corresponding articles of the Codes of the other Union
Republics, incur any liability in respect of property under collective agreements.
86. The communication from the Government of the U.S.S.R.
dated 6 November 1955 addressed to the Committee on Freedom of
Employers' and Workers' Organisations contains, inter alia, the following passages relating to the questions raised in the I.C.F.T.U. complaint.
In the Soviet Union at the present time there are 43 All-Soviet central trade
union organisations which organise the workers in the different industrial
sectors—coal mining, petroleum, iron and steel, textile industry, mechanical
engineering, electricity supply industry, railways, road transport, etc. The
supreme authority for each trade union is the trade union congress. In the
intervals between congresses, the activities of the trade unions are directed
by the central committee of the trade union appointed by the congress.
Each trade union includes republican, regional, departmental and local
organisations, which are directed by the conferences of the organisations
themselves and by the councils which they elect.
These industrial trade unions are a part of the general organisation of
Soviet trade unions, the total membership of which amounts to more than
40 million workers and salaried employees (more than 90 per cent, of all workers and salaried employees).
The AU-Union Central Council of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R. represents
the Soviet trade unions in the international trade union movement and is
affiliated to the W.F.T.U. in their name
In accordance with article 11 of the Soviet Constitution, the economic life
of the Soviet Union is planned and directed according to the State Economic
Plan. One of the objectives of this plan is to increase the wealth of the nation
and to raise continuously the material and cultural level of the working
population. Planning with respect to the wages and salaries of workers and
salaried employees is an integral part of the state economic programme.
Trade union organisations take an active part in the preparation of this plan,
in particular, the different central trade union organisations and the AU-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions, which, expressing the desires of the members,
submits observations on questions affecting production, employment, living
conditions, cultural facilities, in so far as these questions appear in the draft.
This active participation of the trade unions in the determination of wage
scales and in the application of the programme cannot take place without the
full co-operation of the working masses. Wages questions play an important
part in trade union activities at all levels of the trade union movement, from
the primary organisations up to the AU-Union Central Council of Trade
Unions. The trade unions support all initiatives by the workers which seek
to increase the material and personal stake of the individual in the product
of his work.
87. The communication dated 12 January 1956 from the Government of the U.S.S.R. to the Committee on Freedom of Employers' and
Workers' Organisations contains, inter alia, the following passage with

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

respect to the question of relations between the trade unions and the
Communist Party:
The allegation that the guiding role entrusted to the Communist Party
with respect to social organisations implies a restriction of the fundamental
freedoms and rights of the workers guaranteed by the Constitution and that
the Party interferes in the internal affairs of social organisations is entirely
without foundation . . . . Articles 67 and 68 of the Rules of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union do not concern relations between the Party and
other social organisations but regulate relations between the Party and those
of its members who, at the same time, are members of the organisations in
question.
PRINCIPAL LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS AND OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATING
TO THE QUESTIONS RAISED IN THE COMPLAINT
OF THE I . C . F . T . U . AND IN THE REPLY OF THE

GOVERNMENT OF THE U.S.S.R.

88. The principal legislative provisions and other documents
relating to the questions raised in the complaint of the I.C.F.T.U. and
in the reply of the Government of the U.S.S.R. which were available
to the Committee when it examined this case are reproduced in Appendix II to this report. 1
CONCLUSIONS

89. The Government of the U.S.S.R. ratified the Freedom of
Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention,
1948 (No. 87) and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining
Convention, 1949 (No. 98) on 10 August 1956; in accordance with
Article 15 of the 1948 Convention and Article 8 of the 1949 Convention these Conventions will enter into force for the U.S.S.R. on
10 August 1957.

Preliminary Question as to the Political Character
of the Complaint
90. In its first reply the Government of the U.S.S.R., while presenting its observations on the I.C.F.T.U. complaint, declared that " the
allegations of the leaders of the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions concerning the pretended violation of trade union rights
in the U.S.S.R. are not in accordance with the facts; they are merely
1

See below, p. 81.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

slanderous; they are made for political purposes and bear no relation
to the tasks of the International Labour Organisation ".
91. In its First Report* the Committee formulated certain principles
concerning the examination of complaints which in the view of the
government concerned are of a political character. In particular the
Committee decided, following the general principles adopted by the
Governing Body on the proposal of its Officers, that even where the
allegations formulated are political in origin or present certain political
aspects they should nevertheless be examined in substance if they raise
questions directly affecting the exercise of trade union rights. The
Committee has applied this principle in a large number of earlier cases
in which the question of the political character of the complaints has
been raised.2 The Committee has always taken the view that, without
prejudging the merits of each complaint, it should examine it in substance but confine itself to the purely trade union aspects of the question.
92. In the present case the complainant makes various precise
allegations directly relating to the exercise of trade union rights, on the
subject of which allegations the Government, moreover, has presented
detailed observations.
93. In these circumstances the Committee has, in accordance with
the practice followed in earlier cases of a similar kind, examined the
different allegations on their merits.
94. The complaint of the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions alleges, in particular—(1) that workers in the U.S.S.R.
do not have the right to constitute or join trade unions of their own
choosing; (2) that the existing trade unions are under the control of the
Government and of the Communist Party; (3) that the trade unions do
not perform the normal functions of occupational associations but are
simply instruments in the hands of the public authorities ; and (4) that
Soviet labour legislation contains a number of provisions of such a
nature as to restrict the free exercise of the rights of the workers in their
actual workplaces. These various groups of allegations are examined
separately below.
1

See First Report of the Committee, paragraph 29.
See First Report of the Committee, Case No. 3 (Dominican Republic), paragraphs 130-142; Sixth Report, Case No. 12 (Argentine Republic), paragraphs 132-322,
Case No. 22 (Philippines), paragraphs 353-383, and Case No. 40 (France-Tunisia),
paragraphs 384-564 ; 12th Report, Case No. 63 (Union of South Africa), paragraphs
257-276, Case No. 16 (France-Morocco), paragraphs 292-428; 13th Report, Case
No. 67 (Egypt), paragraphs 90-106, and Case No. 62 (Netherlands), paragraphs
18-89; 14th Report, Case No. 104 (Iran), paragraphs 86-116; 15th Report, Case
No. 102 (Union of South Africa), paragraphs 75-185 ; and 16th Report, Case
No. 112 (Greece), paragraphs 57-86.
2

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

Allegation concerning the Free Constitution
of Occupational Associations
95. According to the complainant the Soviet Government " has
continued to violate fundamental trade union rights, above all by
denying to all workers of the Soviet Union the right of voluntary association for the protection of their interests. Although there exists a structure
of organisations called ' trade unions ', these bodies do not perform
the main function of trade unions in the accepted sense of the w o r d defence of the rights, the standards of living and the working conditions
of the workers. Instead, they are used by the state machinery as yet
another organ of labour supervision, of enforcement of labour discipline
and, above all, of driving the worker relentlessly to greater and greater
exertions. As no organisations of workers are allowed to exist, the
workers' right to form trade unions is in fact suppressed by the Soviet
Government."
96. In support of this allegation the complainant refers in particular
to article 126 of the Constitution of the U.S.S.R., according to the
provisions of which the Communist Party is the leading core of all
public organisations in the Soviet Union, including the trade unions. 1
97. The complainant therefore brings into question the principle
that workers and employers, without distinction whatsoever, should
have the right to establish and join organisations of their own choosing.
98. In its first reply the Government argued among other things
that " the Soviet trade unions are the freest democratic organisations
in the world and, in the Soviet State, they have considerable rights,
great authority and much influence ". The Government continues:
In the Soviet State, where the workers are in power, there is not and
there could not be any possible basis for a violation of trade union rights,
nor for the persecution of trade unions such as occurs in some capitalist
countries.
The trade unions of the U.S.S.R. represent the broadest based public
organisation without party attachments, including workers and salaried
employees; they have as» members on a free and voluntary basis more than
40 million workers and salaried employees in all occupations without discrimination of race, nationality, sex or creed.
The considerable rights which the Soviet trade unions possess are guaranteed
by the Constitution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
As mass organisations without party affiliation, the trade unions carry out
their task in accordance with their own constitutions adopted at the Congress
of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R.
1
Allegations relating to the control of the trade unions by the Communist Party
are examined subsequently. See below, paragraphs 109 to 121. .

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

99. At its 11th Session (February 1955), the Committee examined
the texts governing the formation and registration of occupational
associations in the U.S.S.R., namely article 126 of the Constitution of
the U.S.S.R., articles 152 and 153 of the Labour Code of the Russian
Soviet Federative Socialist Republic 1 , and the relevant provisions of the
Constitution and Rules of the Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R.
100. Article 126 of the Constitution, relating to the right of association, reads as follows:
In conformity with the interests of the working people, and in order to
develop the organisational initiative and political activity of the masses of the
people, citizens of the U.S.S.R. are guaranteed the right to unite in public
organisations: trade unions, co-operative societies, youth organisations, sport
and defence organisations, cultural, technical and scientific societies; and the
most active and politically conscious citizens in the ranks of the working
class, working peasants and working intelligentsia unite in the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union, which is the vanguard of the working people in
their struggle to build Communist society and is the leading core 2 of all
organisations of the working people, both public and State.
101. The Committee also examined articles 152 and 153 of the
Labour Code of the R.S.F.S.R., which relate to the registration of trade
unions.
Article 152 provides that " the trade unions (industrial unions)
organised in accordance with the principles drawn up by the competent
congresses of these organisations shall not be liable to registration with
state institutions as prescribed for associations and unions in general
but shall be registered with the central federations of unions to which
they are affiliated in accordance with the conditions prescribed by the
Union Congresses of Trade Unions ".
Article 153 of the Code provides that " other associations not registered with central federations of unions under article 152 shall not be
entitled to style themselves trade unions (industrial unions) nor to claim
the rights of such unions ".
102. As the Soviet trade unions are at the present time grouped in
a single " inter-union " organisation represented by the Ail-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R., the Committee also examined
the articles in the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade Unions
relating to the registration of trade unions. Article 51 of these rules
provides that " each trade union has its rules, which take into account
1
Identical articles are contained in the Labour Codes of other Federated Republics
of the U.S.S.R.
2
In Russian " rukovodiashcheye yadro ". The translation of the whole paragraph
is given in " Constitution (Fundamental Law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics" (Moscow, Foreign Languages Publishing House, 1955).

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

the distinctive features of that union and conform to the rules of the
trade unions of the U.S.S.R. The rules of each trade union shall be
registered with the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions. "
103. The Committee, having noted that, while according to the
terms of the existing regulations trade unions are not obliged to register
with state institutions, they must nevertheless, in order to be entitled to
style themselves trade unions and to claim the rights of such unions, be
registered with an inter-union organisation—in the present case, with
the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions—raised the question
in its request for further information (12 March 1955) " whether under
Soviet regulations only trade unions affiliated to the All-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions have legal status and whether, as a result,
unregistered organisations are illegal ".
104. In its reply of 5 November 1956 the Government of the
U.S.S.R. emphasises, firstly, that " in conformity with the interests of
the working people, and in order to develop the organisational initiative
and political activity of the masses of the people, article 126 of the Soviet
Constitution guarantees citizens of the U.S.S.R. the right to unite in
public organisations, including trade unions, co-operative societies,
youth organisations, and so on ". According to the Government this
provision implies no reservation or limit with respect to the guarantee
of freedom of association.
105. With regard more particularly to the interpretation of articles
152 and 153 of the Labour Code of the R.S.F.S.R., the Government
presents the following arguments:
The letter [of the Director-General of the I.L.O.] refers to articles 152
and 153 of the Labour Code of the R.S.F.S.R. These articles guarantee the
right of workers to become affiliated to trade unions and also safeguard the
freedom of action of the unions themselves. They are, in fact, the concrete
expression of the basic rights of Soviet citizens, as embodied in the Soviet
Constitution.
Article 152 of the Labour Code of the R.S.F.S.R. lays down that the trade
unions, as freely operating bodies, shall not be liable to registration with state
institutions and by so doing emphasises their independence of the Government.
The very fact that Soviet trade unions are not liable to registration with
state institutions testifies to the advantages and freedoms they enjoy. Moreover, neither articles 152 and 153 of the Labour Code nor any other clauses
require them to become affiliated to the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade
Unions, with the result that the possibility of other trade union organisations
existing is not at all excluded.
106. The Committee notes that, according to the statement of the
Government, "neither articles 152 and 153 of the Labour Code nor
any other clauses require them to become affiliated to the Ail-Union

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

Central Council of Trade Unions, with the result that the possibility
of other trade union organisations' existing is not at all excluded ".
In other words, the Soviet Government argues that the possibility of the
workers of the U.S.S.R. constituting organisations outside the AllUnion Central Council of Trade Unions is not excluded.
107. The Committee notes the formal assurance given by the
Government of the U.S.S.R. that there is no provision making it compulsory for trade union organisations to be affiliated to the All-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions and that the possibility of the workers
of the U.S.S.R. constituting organisations outside the Ail-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions is not excluded, but also notes that it has no
information that other organisations in fact exist or concerning the
legal régime which would be applicable to them except that a decree
of 1932 * provides that voluntary associations and unions thereof may
not undertake the defence of the legal and economic interests of their
members and may not describe themselves as professional organisations
except in cases specially provided for by law; in these circumstances the
Committee reaffirms the view which it has expressed in previous cases,
and notably in the case relating to the Dominican Republic 2, that the
workers' freedom to constitute and join organisations of their own
choosing cannot be said to exist unless such freedom is fully established
and respected in law and in fact.
Allegations concerning the Independence and Autonomy
of Occupational Associations
108. The allegations of the complainant with respect to the independence and autonomy of occupational associations in the U.S.S.R. may
be grouped under four main heads:
(1) control of trade unions by the Communist Party;
(2) integration of the trade unions in state administration;
(3) infringement of the principle of the free election of trade union
officers;
(4) infringement of the right of trade unions to organise congresses.
These allegations, which are complementary, will be examined in succession.
1
2

1024.

Sobrante S.S.S.R. (Moscow), No. 74, 14 Oct. 1932, Text No. 331.
See Sixth Report of the Committee, Case No. 3 (Dominican Republic), paragraph

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

Allegation relating to the Control of the Trade Unions by the Communist
Party.
109. It is alleged that the Soviet trade unions are placed under the
control of the Communist Party and that, in these conditions, it is the
State which determines the policy of these trade unions. In support of
this argument, the complainant refers to various official texts—article 126
of the Constitution and the Preamble to the Constitution and Rules
of the Soviet Trade Unions—to certain statements by trade union
leaders, to articles in the trade union press and to a resolution of the
Trade Union Congress.
110. Article 126 of the Constitution to which reference has already
been made, is stated to recognise the monopoly accorded to the Soviet
Communist Party and to define the Communist Party as representing
" the leading core of all organisations of the working people, both
public and State ".
111. It is alleged that the Preamble to the Constitution and Rules
of the Soviet Trade Unions also contains a provision stipulating that
" the Soviet trade unions conduct all their activities under the guidance
of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the organising and directing
force of Soviet society ".
112. A former President of the Central Council, Mr. Kuznetsov,
is alleged to have recognised the submission of the trade unions to the
orders of the Communist Party in a statement in his report on the
activities of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions: " In all their
activities the trade unions unrelentingly follow the directives of Lenin
and Stalin on the role of trade unions. The strength of the trade unions
lies in the wise leadership by the Soviet Communist Party and Comrade
Stalin." 1
Mr. Shvernik, the then President of the Ail-Union Central Council
of Trade Unions 2, is alleged to have declared, in his report to the 11th
Congress of Soviet Trade Unions (June 1954), that " the Central Committee of the Party highly appreciated the part played by the trade
unions as organisers and educators of the workers and have entrusted
to the trade unions extremely important tasks in the future development
of the national economy ".
113. The complainant then states that, in the general resolution
adopted by the 11th Congress of Soviet Trade Unions, it is said that the
address sent to that Congress by the Central Committee of the Com1
2

Trud, 20 Apr. 1949.
Mr. Shvernik was subsequently replaced as President by Mr. V. V. Grishin.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

munist Party and the Council of Ministers of the U.S.S.R. constitutes
a militant programme defining all the functions of the Soviet trade
unions under present conditions. It is also indicated that " for the
happy solution of the tasks entrusted to the trade unions by the Party
and the Government it is necessary resolutely to improve the standard
of trade union work at all levels ".*
114. In its first reply (3 November 1954) the Government confined
itself to giving the following explanation of the relationship between
the Communist Party and the trade unions :
The establishment of a powerful multi-national Soviet State, the industrialisation of the country and the collectivisation of agriculture, the building of
socialism, the reinforcement of the moral and political unity of socialist
society and the friendship of the peoples of our countries for each other, the
victory of the U.S.S.R. over fascism during the Second World War, the economic and cultural progress, the increase in the material well-being of the
Soviet people, have been achieved in our country under the direction of the
Communist Party.
The historical experience acquired over many years has convinced the
workers of the U.S.S.R. that of all the political parties which existed in our
country only the Communist Party is really a party of the people which defends
the workers' vital interests. By its activity the Party has won the love and
confidence of the entire Soviet People.
This is the reason why the trade unions of the U.S.S.R., uniting enormous
masses of workers in their ranks, regard the Communist Party as their guide
and organiser in the struggle for the prosperity of the Soviet State and the
happiness of the peoples of our country.
115. At its 11th Session the Committee examined the texts mentioned by the complainant, namely article 126 of the Constitution and
the Preamble to the Constitution and Rules of the Trade Unions. The
Committee noted that article 126 of the Constitution—quoted in full
above in paragraph 100—appeared to entrust a directive role to the
Communist Party by providing that " the most active and politically
conscious citizens in the ranks of the working class and other sections
of the working people unite in the Communist Party of the Soviet
Union (Bolsheviks), which is the vanguard of the working people in
their struggle to strengthen and develop the socialist system and is the
leading core of all organisations of the working people, both public
and State ".
The Preamble to the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade
Unions refers to the principle of control of the trade unions by the
Communist Party in the following terms :
The Soviet trade unions, which are a mass non-party public organisation,
unite on a voluntary basis workers and other employees of all occupations,
without distinction of race, nationality, sex or religious beliefs.
1

Pravda,

16 June 1954.

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

The Soviet trade unions conduct all their activities under the guidance of
the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the organising and directing force
of Soviet society.
116. Following this examination the Committee expressed to the
Government of the U.S.S.R. its wish " to be informed of the supervisory
machinery provided for under this provision in order to be in a position
to judge whether it is worded in such a way as to safeguard the independence and autonomy of the Soviet trade union movement ".
117. In its second reply (5 November 1955) the Government gives
the following interpretation of the provision in the Preamble to the
Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade Unions :
This particular clause in the Rules of the Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R.
makes no provision for any supervision whatsoever. The guidance of trade
union activities by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is effected by
the Party through its members, who are at the same time members of the
unions. This guidance by the Party has been voluntarily accepted by the
unions as a circumstance having its origins in history; the point is that the
policy of the Communist Party is in keeping with the vital interests of the Soviet
working population. Nor should it be forgotten that, unlike the unions in
the West, the trade unions in Russia were formed after the creation of a
workers' party and around that party.
The vast majority of the non-party members of a union take an active
part in all the activities of the union and of the authorities that it elects at
different levels. The election of trade union authorities is an expression of
the will of all the members of the union, and naturally, when union members
belonging to the Party are elected side by side with non-party members of the
union, this merely serves to confirm the high moral standing of the Party
with the unions. The executive authorities of Soviet trade unions are not
only elected at all levels but are also answerable at all levels to the groups of
persons that elect them. Periodically they report back on their activities to
trade union meetings, conferences and congresses, where every member of
the union and every person present at the meeting has the right to criticise
their work—a right of which extensive use is made.
The Committee is naturally aware that this connection of trade unions
with political parties is not by any means exceptional. In the United Kingdom,
for example, the organisation of the unions is connected with the Labour
Party, and some such form of connection is to be found in many other countries.
118. In a number of earlier cases, and particularly in Case No. 40
(France-Tunisia) *, the Committee has recommended the Governing
Body to express the view " that the trade unions, without prejudice to
the freedom of opinion of their members, should have regard to the
principles enunciated in the resolution adopted by the International
Labour Conference at its 35th Session (1952), in which it is stated among
other things that the fundamental and permanent mission of the trade
union movement is the economic and social advancement of the workers
1

See Sixth Report of the Committee, paragraph 563.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

and that when trade unions in accordance with national law and practice
of their respective countries and at the decision of their members decide
to establish relations with a pohtical party or to undertake constitutional
pohtical action as a means towards the advancement of their economic
and social objectives, such pohtical relations or actions should not be
of such a nature as to compromise the continuance of the trade union
movement or its social and economic functions irrespective of political
changes in the country ". The Committee considers that the same arguments hold good, a fortiori, in the present case, in which control is
alleged to be exercised by a political party which is identified with the
State itself.
119. The Committee notes that in its second reply the Government,
while admitting that the activities of the trade unions are guided by
the Communist Party, nevertheless denies that the trade unions are
subject under existing legislation to control by the Communist Party.
The Government maintains that the guidance of the activities of the
trade unions, which is exercised by party members who are at the same
time members of the unions, " has been voluntarily accepted by the
unions as a circumstance having its origins in history; the point is that
the policy of the Communist Party is in keeping with the vital interests
of the Soviet working population ".
120. The Government also states that all members of trade unions,
including non-party members, take part in the election of trade union
authorities at all levels, which are, moreover, answerable at all levels
to the groups of persons that elect them. The Committee has examined
this aspect of the question in connection with the other allegations made
by the complainant with respect, firstly, to integration of trade unions
in the State and, secondly, to the free election of trade union officers.
121. In these circumstances, the Committee notes that the Government of the U.S.S.R. admits that the activities of the trade unions are
guided by the Communist Party but contends that this guidance of the
activities of the trade unions, which is exercised by Party members who
are at the same time members of the unions, has been voluntarily accepted
by the unions; in this connection the Committee reaffirms the principle
set forth in the resolution on the independence of the trade union movement adopted by the International Labour Conference on 26 June 1952
that governments " should not attempt to transform the trade union
movement into an instrument for the pursuance of political aims, nor
should they attempt to interfere with the normal functions of a trade
union movement because of its freely established relationship with a
pohtical party ".

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

Allegation relating to the Integration of Trade Unions in the State.
122. The complainant alleges that the Soviet trade unions have
been transformed, from the legal point of view, into state organs as the
result of a reform introduced by a decree dated 23 June 1933 under
which the People's Labour Commissariat is stated to have been merged
with the trade unions and its functions transferred to trade union organs.
123. In its first reply (3 November 1954) the Government gives the
following explanations concerning the role of the trade unions with
respect to social insurance and supervision of the application of conditions of work:
The trade unions in the U.S.S.R. administer social insurance. Large
numbers of worker and salaried employee members of the trade unions participate actively in this work on a democratic basis.
The workers and salaried employees of the Soviet Union do not pay
contributions to the Social Insurance Fund, these being paid for them by the
undertakings and institutions.
The funds available for social insurance are increasing year by year.
In 1954 the sum devoted to this purpose was 24,700 million roubles, i.e.
2.8 times more than in 1940.
The Social Insurance Funds pay pensions and allowances, the cost of
workers' treatment in convalescent homes and children's rest homes and other
similar items. At the present time the trade unions administer a very large
number of sanatoria, prevention centres and rest rooms. During the period
between the 10th and 11th Congresses of Trade Unions, 13 million workers
and salaried employees received treatment in sanatoria and convalescent
homes.
The trade unions share actively in the development of social hygiene, the
expansion of clinics in factories and undertakings, of first-aid centres and
hospitals; they maintain constant supervision of the medical services provided
to workers, employees and the members of their families, and they make
efforts to improve these services. More than a million doctors and ancillary
medical personnel provide free medical assistance to workers.
The Soviet State allots very large sums of money for the improvement of
conditions of work for salaried employees and workers. Extremely detailed
and complete labour protection and industrial safety legislation is in force
in the U.S.S.R.
The trade unions maintain a constant watch over the application of labour
legislation and try to bring about the introduction of all necessary measures
to ensure proper working conditions in accordance with the requirements of
health and safety.
The trade unions have about 1,300,000 public inspectors and members
of the labour protection committees. The trade union technical inspectors
have considerable rights. They have the right to visit all undertakings and to
express their views in advance on whether new undertakings or workshops
meet safety requirements adequately for beginning operations. The directors
of undertakings are required to conform with the directions of the technical
inspectors concerning any non-compliance with labour protection provisions.
If the laws concerning health protection of the workers are not observed,
the technical inspectors have the right to hold directors of undertakings, of
workshops or of work units responsible for this.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

124. The Government, while thus giving ample details concerning
the functions of trade unions with respect to the administration of social
insurance and the supervision of the application of social legislation,
nevertheless did not furnish details concerning the effects, if any, of the
fusion of the People's Labour Commissariat with the trade unions on
the legal status of the latter, nor with respect to the juridical principles
regulating relations since 1933 between the different organs of the Soviet
State and the organs of the trade unions in the exercise of the different
functions formerly performed by the People's Labour Commissariat.
125. At its 11th Session (February 1955) the Committee examined
the Soviet legislative texts relating to the fusion, namely the decree of
23 June 1933 cited by the complainant and the regulations drawn up
in application of article 2 of this decree and promulgated on 10 September 1933.
126. The decree of 23 June 1933 reads as follows:
1. The People's Labour Commissariat, with all its local organs, including
the organs of social security, will merge with the central and regional machinery
of the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, the tasks of the People's
Labour Commissariat and of its organs devolving on the Ail-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions.
2. The All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions will submit to the
Council of People's Commissars of the U.S.S.R. within one month the draft
of the concrete measures (to be adopted) to put the present provision into
application.
127. The regulations promulgated on 10 September 1933 in application of article 2 of the aforesaid decree provide, firstly, for the transfer
to the trade unions of all social insurance funds, buildings (sanatoria,
scientific institutions, etc.) and all premises and property administered
by the former People's Labour Commissariat, together with the personnel
of the labour and social insurance institutions. The same decree provides
that the general responsibility for social insurance and labour inspection
should be entrusted to the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions,
the direct administration of these two branches of labour administration
being transferred to the different national trade unions; the preparation
of the budget of administrative expenses in connection with social
insurance and labour protection is a function of the All-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions, the budget having to be submitted for approval
to the Government of the U.S.S.R.
128. After examining these provisions, the Committee, " noting that
functions which were previously entrusted to the People's Labour
Commissariat were thus transferred to the All-Union Central Council
of Trade Unions ", asked the Government of the U.S.S.R. to furnish

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

information as to " what role is played by the All-Union Central Council
of Trade Unions in these circumstances among the directing bodies in
the U.S.S.R. and in particular the status of the President of the AU-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions ". In particular, the Committee wished
to know whether the latter was entrusted with all the functions and
invested with all the privileges which previously pertained to the People's
Labour Commissar.
129. The Committee, having noted further that article 4 of the Rules
of the Soviet Trade Unions, which defines the advantages enjoyed by
members of trade unions, provides in particular that the latter " receive
benefits within the state social insurance funds for a larger amount
than do non-members ", also expressed a wish to be informed " whether
there is such a difference of treatment with respect to social security
as between trade union and non-trade union workers that it might be
interpreted as indirect coercion to workers to belong to a trade union ".
In this connection the Committee also wished to know " what is the
percentage of workers in trade unions in relation to the total number
of workers in the Soviet Union ".
130. In its second reply (5 November 1955) the Government states
that " In 1933, after the People's Commissariat of Labour of the U.S.S.R.
had been abolished, some of its responsibilities for the supervision
of working conditions and the operation of social services for workers
were taken over by the unions, with the result that the rights and duties
of the unions, as public bodies representing the mass of the working
population, were extended. The responsibilities taken over by the unions
included the management of the social insurance scheme and the general
supervision of the protection of labour in undertakings. Repeated
references have already been made to the extensive activities of the
unions in these fields (see, more especially, the above-mentioned letter
dated 3 November 1954).1 The other economic and administrative
responsibilities of the People's Commissariat of Labour are at present
being discharged by various governmental institutions."
131. The Government states further that " state responsibility for
supervising the work of ministries and government departments and for
improving their achievements in the field of wages and employment
has been assigned to the State Wages and Employment Committee of
the Council of Ministers of the U.S.S.R., set up at the end of May 1955 ".
132. With regard to the legal status of the Ail-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions, the Government states that " the All-Union
1

See above, paragraph 123.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

Central Council of Trade Unions is the highest authority in the hierarchy
of the trade unions, as voluntary organisations of the working population,
and no governmental, attributes can be assigned to it. This, moreover,
is evident from the Constitution of the U.S.S.R., which makes no provision for the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions when listing
the organs of state power and state administration. The same applies
to the position of the President of the All-Union Central Council of
Trade Unions, who is the elected head of the highest elected trade union
authority, and his status has naturally nothing in common with that of
the head of an administrative or governmental institution."
133. Finally, with regard to the advantages which trade union
members are alleged to enjoy, under state social insurance, in accordance
with the aforesaid article 4 of the Rules of the Soviet Trade Unions, the
Government declares that " in the Soviet Union, the entire responsibility
for managing the social insurance scheme is at present vested in the
unions ; it is a well-known fact that such an association in the management of social insurance is being claimed and fought for at the present
time by the trade unions of many countries. The Soviet trade unions
disburse enormous sums of money as part of social insurance on the
provision of social services for workers ; these include the payment
of temporary disability benefits, in respect of which a certain distinction
is made as between members and non-members of the unions. This
distinction, however, does not extend to the other forms of social
security and social services and cannot in any way be regarded as an
indirect form of coercion applied to induce workers to become affiliated
to a union." The Government adds that " as public bodies representing
the mass of the working population, the Soviet trade unions organise
all types of wage-earning and salaried employees on a strictly voluntary
basis, without distinction as to race, nationality, sex or religious conviction. No direct or indirect form of coercion is applied to induce workers
to become affiliated to a union. As a result of their great efforts to improve
the working conditions, material welfare and cultural standards of the
working population, the trade unions enjoy considerable authority
among wage earners and salaried employees, who are keen to become
affiliated members and take an active part in union activities. The vast
majority of persons employed in Soviet undertakings (40,420,000 on
1 January 1954) are consequently members of a union, as may be seen
from the published documents of the 11th Trade Union Congress and
various other papers."
134. The Committee considers that, while it is not called upon to
express an opinion as to the desirability of entrusting the administration

2 3 RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

of social insurance and the supervision of the application of social
legislation to occupational associations rather than to administrative
state organs except in so far as such a measure might restrict the free
exercise of trade union rights, this might be the case : (1) if the trade
unions exercised discrimination in administering the social insurance
funds made available to them for the purpose of exercising pressure on
unorganised workers ; (2) if the independence of the trade union
movement should thereby be compromised.
135. With regard to the utilisation of social insurance funds, the
Government admits in its reply that certain differences exist as between
trade union members and unorganised workers, but states that they
cannot be regarded as implying any indirect pressure to cause workers
to adhere to the trade unions. The Government again emphasises in
this connection that the Soviet trade unions group the workers on a
strictly voluntary basis and that there exists no form of coercion, direct
or indirect, to join a trade union.
136. In these circumstances the Committee, while considering that
it is not called upon to express an opinion as to the desirability or otherwise of entrusting the administration of social insurance and the supervision of the application of social legislation to occupational associations
rather than to administrative state organs, except in so far as such a
measure might restrict the exercise of trade union freedom, notes the
assurance given by the Government of the U.S.S.R. that Soviet trade
unions group the workers on a strictly voluntary basis and that there
exists no form of coercion, direct or indirect, to join a trade union, but
considers that differences in treatment in respect of social security on
the basis of trade union membership are liable to operate in practice
as a means of indirect coercion, and recommends that the Government
should give further consideration to this point.
137. With regard to the juridical status of the Ail-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions, the Government has emphasised that the
Council is the highest authority in the hierarchy of the trade unions, as
voluntary organisations of the working population, and that no governmental attributes can be assigned to it. This, it is stated, is confirmed
moreover by the Constitution of the U.S.S.R., which does not include
the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions in the list of organs of
state power and state administration.
138. With regard more particularly to the status of the President
of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, the Government
emphasises that he is the elected head of the highest elected trade union

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

authority and that, therefore, his status has nothing in common with
that of the head of an administrative or governmental institution.
139. While taking note of the Government's statement, the Committee decided to examine the merits of the allegations relating to the
juridical status of the AU-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and
of the President of the Council in connection with the allegations relating
to the free elections of trade union officers.
Allegations relating to the Principle of the Free Election of Trade Union
Officers.
140. The complainant formulates two distinct allegations, one of
which relates to the electoral procedure laid down with respect to the
appointment of " trade union group organisers ", while the other relates
to the circumstances under which Mr. N. M. Shvernik was appointed
President of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions of the
U.S.S.R. in 1953. These two allegations are examined separately below.
Type of Ballot Prescribed for the Election of Trade Union Group
Organisers.
141. The complainant alleges " that the Rules of the Soviet Trade
Unions have abolished the secret vote for the election of the so-called
' trade union group organisers '. The group, numbering up to 20 members, is the lowest unit of the Soviet trade unions; the group organiser is
the steward of the group. He is the basic link between the trade union
leader and the workers in the shop. From this it results that the trade
union representative most closely connected with the mass of the workers
and most likely to be influenced by their real sentiments and desires is not
appointed by secret ballot."
142. In its first reply (3 November 1954) the Government stated—
The democratic spirit of the trade unions finds its expression in the union
of workers, freely entered into, in the elections for factory, undertaking and
local councils, which are made by secret ballot, and also in the elections for
all the other leading executive bodies of the trade unions and of the delegates
who participate in conferences and meetings.
In accordance with the constitutions of the various trade unions, the
elections for factory, undertaking and local councils, and the elections of
occupational organisers and group occupational bodies take place each year.
The elections of the central trade union committees and their regional, local
and other bodies take place every two years. The Congress of Trade Unions
of the U.S.S.R. meets at least once every four years.
Decisions of the trade union organisations are taken by majority vote; no
decision can be taken against the wishes and desires of the majority. The
members of each trade union have the right to nominate, reject or criticise
every candidate proposed for membership of the trade union executive bodies.

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

143. The Committee, having noted at its 11th Session (February
1955) that the Government's reply did not comment specifically on the
complainant's allegation that trade union group organisers are appointed by a show of hands, made an examination in this case also of
the pertinent provisions in the Soviet laws and regulations.
144. The Committee noted that the Labour Code of the R.S.F.S.R.
(like the Labour Codes of the other federated republics of the U.S.S.R.)
leaves the organisation of trade union elections to be dealt with in the
trade union rules. Articles 12 to 19 of Chapter II of the Constitution and
Rules of the Soviet Trade Unions lay down the basic principles relating
to trade union elections which may be summarised as follows. Under
article 12 of the Rules—
the trade unions are built up on the principles of democratic centralism,
which means that—•
(a) all trade union bodies from the bottom up are elected by the membership and accountable to them;
(b) trade union organisations decide all matters of union activity in
conformity with the rules of trade unions of the U.S.S.R. and the decisions
of higher union bodies;
(c) trade union organisations pass their decisions by a majority vote of
the membership;
(d) lower trade union bodies are subordinate to higher ones.
Article 15 provides that—
The highest directing body of a trade union organisation is the general
meeting (for primary organisations), the conference (for district, city, regional,
territorial, republican, railway-line and basin organisations), the congress
(for the trade union as a whole).
The general meeting, conference or congress elects an appropriate committee—the shop, factory, establishment, district, city, regional, territorial,
republican, central committee, and in inter-union organisations—the Council
of Trade Unions, which is their executive body and directs all the routine
activities of the organisation.
Article 16 emphasises that—
All trade union directing bodies, and also delegates to trade union conferences and congresses are elected by secret ballot.
When trade union bodies are being elected, the union membership has
the right to nominate candidates and to challenge or criticise any of them.
The elected trade union bodies choose from their midst, by open vote, a
chairman, a secretary, and members of the presidium.
Article 17 provides that—
New elections to any trade union body may be held before the expiration
of the appointed term at the demand of at least one-third of the union members represented by that body, and also by decision of a higher trade union
body.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

Article 18 determines the electoral quorum. It provides that—
General meetings of trade union members, union conferences and
congresses, and also meetings of trade union committees and councils of
trade unions shall be considered competent if attended by not less than twothirds of the union members, delegates or committee members.
Finally, article 19 provides that—
Trade union bodies must undeviatingly observe trade union democracy:
call general meetings and conferences of union members, report on their work
and hold elections, provide for the development of criticism and self-criticism
in the trade union organisations, promote extensive participation of the
membership in trade union activities, strengthen and extend their ties with
the masses, rely on broad sections of the trade union activ, and strictly observe
the principles of collective leadership.
145. In connection more particularly with the allegation that
organisers of trade union groups—" the lowest unit of the Soviet trade
unions ", according to the complainant—are elected by open ballot, the
Committee examined two articles in the Rules relating to primary trade
union organisations.
146. Under article 37 of the Rules—
The basic unit of a trade union is the primary trade union organisation.
The primary trade union organisation is made up of the trade union members
employed at the same factory, M.T.S., state farm, or establishment, or attending the same educational institution.
The highest body in the primary trade union organisation is the general
meeting of union members.
In factories or other establishments where general meetings cannot be
called because people work different shifts or because the shops or departments are territorially dispersed, shift meetings or conferences of trade union
members are held instead.
Article 39 provides that—
To conduct current activities primary trade union organisations numbering
25 or more members elect a factory or establishment committee and an auditing
commission, and organisations numbering less than 25 members elect a trade
union organised for a term of one year.
The number of members on the factory or establishment committee and
the auditing commission isfixedby the general meeting or conference of union
members.
147. It would appear from these provisions that the primary trade
union organisations—the factory unions and the organs emanating from
them, factory committees, etc.—and " trade union organisers " are
elected by secret ballot by the general meeting of union members.
148. Article 41 of the Rules refers more specifically to " trade union
group organisers ". This article reads as follows :

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

With a view to meeting more fully the wants of trade union members
working in the same team, unit, assembly, section, etc., trade union groups
are formed.
A trade union group organiser is elected by open vote for a term of one
year at a general meeting of the group. To assist the group organiser, the trade
union group elects from among its members a social insurance steward, a
cultural organiser and a public inspector of labour protection.
The trade union group organiser—
draws all employees into the trade union, collects membership dues from
union members;
actively supports advanced production undertakings by the workers and other
employees, assists them in bringing out and widely developing their creative
initiative, helps innovators in production, sees to the dissemination of
highly productive methods of work among all the workers of his group;
jointly with the foreman and team leader develops socialist emulation for the
fulfilment and overfulfilment of production assignments, for the improvement of output quality, and for the saving of materials by every worker;
holds production conferences and general meetings of the trade union group
and helps the factory, establishment and shop committees to provide the
. workers and other employees with welfare and cultural services.
149. It would appear from these provisions that there is a distinction between " trade union group organisers " and " trade union directing
bodies ".
150. The Committee notes that article 16 of the Rules of the Soviet
Trade Unions requires trade union officers to be elected by secret ballot,
but that article 41 provides for the election by a show of hands of trade
union organisers, whose duties include the drawing into the trade union
of all employees and the collection of membership dues from union
members.
Appointment of the President of the Central Council of Trade Unions.
151. With regard to the second allegation of the complainant relating to the method of appointment of the President of the Ail-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions, the Committee also made reference to
the provisions in the Rules of the Trade Unions relating to higher trade
union bodies.
152. According to article 20 of the Rules, the supreme body of the
trade unions is the Congress of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R., which
must be convened at least once every four years. Notice of it and its
agenda must be given at least two months before the date of the Congress.
The rates of representation at the Congress of Trade Unions are determined by the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.
According to article 21 (e), the U.S.S.R. Congress of Trade Unions
" elects the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the Auditing
Commission ".

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

Under the provisions of article 25, " the Ail-Union Central Council
of Trade Unions elects a Presidium to direct the work of trade unions
between the plenary meetings and a Secretariat to direct the current work
of organisational and executive character ".
153. The Committee, at its 11th Session (February 1955), after
recalling the fundamental provisions in the Rules of the Soviet Trade
Unions analysed above and making reference to the complainant's
allegations that the President of the All-Union Central Council of Trade
Unions was appointed by the Central Committee of the Communist Party
of the Soviet Union, the Council of Ministers of the U.S.S.R. and the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, meeting in joint session, requested the
Government of the U.S.S.R. to inform it " whether the principle of free
election of trade union leaders applies to all ranks in the trade union
hierarchy and in particular to the office of President of the AU-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions ".
154. In its second reply (5 November 1955) the Government of the
U.S.S.R. gives the following details:
The Committee refers to a communication from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, dated 7 October 1954, in which it is asserted
that the President of the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions was
appointed to his post in March 1953 by a joint meeting of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, the Council of Ministers
of the U.S.S.R. and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R.
In fact, however, the ordinance on the subject recommended his appointment as President of the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.
The President of the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions was
elected at the 10th Plenary Meeting of the AU-Union Central Council of
Trade Unions held in March 1953, and was re-elected in June 1954 at the
first Plenary Meeting of the AU-Union Central Council of Trade Unions after
its election at the 11 th Trade Union Congress. No appointment of a President
ever took place, and there was naturally no notification of any such appointment.
The principle of free election is appUed in the Soviet Union to the election
of aU trade union leaders, including the President of the AU-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions.
155. The Committee considered the text of the joint decision of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party, of the Government and of
the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R. relating to the appointment of
Mr. Shvernik as President of the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade
Unions. The decision is in the following terms 1 :
... The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the U.S.S.R., the
Council of Ministers of the U.S.S.R. and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
1

1953.

The decision in question was published in the Moscow newspapers of 7 March

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

of the U.S.S.R. consider it indispensable to adopt a number of measures
relating to the organisation of the administration of the Party and of the State:
Concerning the Presidency of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the
U.S.S.R. :
To recommend Comrade K. E. Voroshilov to be appointed President of
the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R., while relieving Comrade
Shvernik of his functions. . . .
Concerning the Presidency of the Central Council of Trade Unions of the
U.S.S.R. :
To recommend Comrade N. M. Shvernik for appointment as President
of the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, while relieving Comrade
V. V. Kuznetsov of his functions. [Mr. Kuznetsov was then President of the
AU-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.]
156. The Committee also observed that the President of the AilUni on Central Council of Trade Unions was elected in March 1953,
as the Government states in its reply, at the 10th Plenary Meeting of
the AU-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, and was confirmed in
his office in June 1954 at the First Plenary Meeting of the AU-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions, after its election by the 11th Congress
of Soviet Trade Unions. It should be noted that, at the meeting of the
AU-Union Central Council of Trade Unions in March 1956 \ Mr. V. V.
Grishin was elected President of the Council in succession to Mr. Shvernik.
157. The Committee, while noting the fact that the joint decision
in question consisted of a " recommendation " that Mr. Shvernik should
be appointed President of the AU-Union Central Council of Trade
Unions, and not a formal appointment—a recommendation subsequently
approved by the Congress of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R.—nevertheless
considers that the mere fact of recommending the appointment of
Mr. Shvernik to this office amounted to indirect pressure on the occupational associations which the latter could have resisted only with
difficulty. Such an intervention appears in itself to imply an infringement of the principle of the free election of trade union officers.
158. The same would appear to be true, a fortiori, if, as in the present
case, the trade union movement is based, as mentioned earlier in paragraph 144, on the principles of democratic centralism according to
which " lower trade union bodies are subordinate to higher ones ".
In other words, if the counterpart also provided by article 12 of the
Rules, namely " free election of all trade union bodies from the bottom
up by the membership of the trade unions to whom they are accountable
1

Trud, 17 Mar. 1956, p. 1.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

for their activities " is lacking, there is a danger that trade union policy
as a whole may be determined by trade union leaders whose appointment has been imposed, even though indirectly, by the public authorities
or the political party in power.
159. From a general analysis of this aspect of the complaint it
would appear that, while the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet
Trade Unions include guarantees of the free election of trade union
officers, there are still serious doubts, as is shown by the Government's
intervention in the appointment of the President of the Ail-Union
Central Council of Trade Unions, concerning the application of these
provisions in practice.
160. The Committee in these circumstances notes that it is admitted
by the Government of the U.S.S.R. that the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of the U.S.S.R., the Council of Ministers of the
U.S.S.R. and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R.
made a recommendation in 1953 concerning the presidency of the AllUnion Central Council of Trade Unions but contends that this was not
a formal appointment but a recommendation subsequently approved
by the Congress of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R.; the Committee
considers a recommendation made in such circumstances to be inconsistent with the principle of the freedom of organisations to elect their
representatives in full freedom but notes that the present President of
the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions was elected in accordance
with the Statutes of the Trade Unions in March 1956.
Allegation that the Soviet Trade Unions Found It Impossible to Hold a
Congress for a Period of 17 Years (1932-49).
161. The complainant declares that during a period of 17 years
(1932-49) the Soviet trade unions were not authorised to hold a congress.
162. In its reply dated 3 November 1954 the Government states
that, in accordance with the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade
Unions, the Congress of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R. is convened at
least once every four years.
163. The Committee notes that the provision in the Constitution
and Rules of the Soviet Trade Unions mentioned by the Government,
which provides for the convening of a Congress of Trade Unions at
least once every four years (article 20), has been in application only
since the adoption of the Constitution and Rules in April 1949 by the
10th Congress of Soviet Trade Unions, whereas prior to that date there
appear to have been no rules in operation with respect to all trade union
organisations; it also notes that a decree of 15 May 1935, which does not

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

appear to have been abrogated, provides that the convocation by federal
state organs or co-operative and social bodies of congresses, conferences
or consultative assemblies in which representatives of local organs take
part is permitted only with the authorisation of the Council of People's
Commissars of the U.S.S.R.1 The 11th Congress of Trade Unions of
the U.S.S.R. was held in June 1954.
164. In the circumstances the Committee notes that the Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade Unions provide that the Congress
of Trade Unions of the U.S.S.R. is convened at least once every four
years and draws attention to the importance which it has always attached
to the principle that in every democratic trade union movement the
congress is the supreme trade union authority. 2
Allegations concerning the Right of Trade Unions to Defend
the Occupational Interests of Their Members
165. The allegations of the complainant concerning the role of the
Soviet trade unions with respect to the defence of the occupational
interests of their members may be grouped under the following heads :
(1) questions relating to collective bargaining and the wages policy;
(2) questions relating to certain trade union duties, especially with
respect to output, claimed to be incompatible with the objects of
trade unions;
(3) questions relating to certain laws restricting the freedom of the
workers: forced labour, labour discipline, right to strike.
Allegation relating to Collective Bargaining and Wages Policy.
166. In its first communication, dated 20 July 1950, the complaining organisation begins by stating that " the practice of fixing wage
rates and working conditions by collective bargaining was discontinued
in 1934. Since that time wage rates in the U.S.S.R. have been determined
by the Soviet Government or its agencies. In 1947, after 12 years during
which no collective agreements had been concluded, they were reintroduced, but in name only, since collective agreements currently negotiated
in the Soviet Union do not determine wages or working conditions."
167. With regard to the fixing of wages, the complainant states that
" the foreman decides the wage rate for the individual worker according
1
2

Sobranie S.S.S.R., No. 26, 28 May 1935, Text No. 209.
First Report of the Committee, Case No. 8 (Israel), paragraphs 66-68.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

to an official handbook which contains a classification of the various
jobs and indicates the corresponding wage categories ".
168. The fixing of wages is described as follows:
In effect, no diversity in the determination of wage systems and levels can
be admitted under the conditions of unified national economic planning. For
this reason, wages are regulated in our country in a centralised manner, by
the Government of the U.S.S.R., through appropriate normative acts (that
is, acts having the character of a binding legal rule) and not by contract.
The inviolability of this principle was emphasised by the decree of the Council
of Ministers of the U.S.S.R. of 4 February 1947, according to which it is
expressly forbidden to include in collective agreements any system of pay for
the work of manual workers, engineers, technicians and white-collar workers
which has not been approved by the Government.1
It is not surprising that, under these conditions, incentive pay has become
a device for anti-worker managerial practices. Piece-rate cutting and speed-up
methods are advocated and prescribed by the highest authorities of the country. By fostering Stakhanovite methods certain workers are engaged to serve
as " pace setters " in establishing higher " norms " of work. In practice, the
foreman's obligation to revise piece-rates forces him to use " drive " methods.
169. In its second communication, dated 28 May 1952, the complaining organisation, on the basis of quotations from official Soviet
publications, describes the nature of collective agreements in the U.S.S.R.
as follows:
It is true that collective agreements are entered into by the Soviet " trade
unions ", but these contracts do not deal with wages, hours of work and other
conditions of employment. Their aim is quite different. They are the main
means of placing on trade union organisations the co-responsibility for the
achievement of government production plans, for enforcement of labour
discipline in factories and workshops, for increasing labour productivity and
for the speed-up of work. A Trud editorial of 16 January 1952 contains a
description of the collective agreements for the current year. The contracts
provide in particular for fulfilment and overfulfilment of the State Economic
Plan for 1952. The 1952 contracts differ from the last year's in paying particular
attention to qualitative production indices—improvement of products, lowering
of unit costs, careful use of materials, fuel and electric power and perfection
of production techniques. The contracts take account of the rise in the technical
level of industry and emphasise the further development of " socialist competition " and the dissemination of advanced experience.2
In whatever respects these new contracts differ from last year's, one thing
has remained unchanged: they are not agreements on wages and other conditions of employment arrived at by collective bargaining.
170. The complainant returns to the question of the fixing of wages
and other conditions of employment in the following terms :
In the reports on the Seventh Plenary Session of the All-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions, published by Trud, wage rates, hours of work,
1
2

G. MOSKALENKO: " Legal Problems of the Collective Agreement", op. cit., p. 16.
Trud, 16 Jan. 1952 (summary quoted from Current Digest of the Soviet Press,
Vol. IV, No. 4, 8 Mar. 1952, p. 26).

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

methods of payment of wages and other conditions of employment were not
mentioned. No mention was made of any plans for wage bargaining made
by the Council and no grievances in these matters were considered. In the
resolutions adopted by the Council and published subsequently in Trud all
these matters of vital importance to the worker were not even touched upon.
These matters are quite obviously not within the scope of the so-called trade
unions in the Soviet Union.
171. In its communication dated 7 October 1954 the complainant
gives a survey of the directives of the Presidium of the All-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions with respect to the reintroduction of collective
agreements in the U.S.S.R. :
The Presidium of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, with
the approval of the Council of Ministers of the U.S.S.R., announced in
March 1947 the need for a vast campaign with a view to the introduction of
collective agreements in industry, building and the merchant marine. As the
President of the Soviet Trade Unions stated, this campaign was introduced
" on the demand of Comrade Stalin " in order to stimulate the accomplishment and exceeding of economic plans.
The Soviet trade unions do not freely negotiate wages and conditions of
employment, as these are fixed by the state authorities. Thus, the resolution
of the Presidium of the AU-Union Central Council of Trade Unions concerning the reintroduction of collective agreements required that piece-work
rates and bonuses as approved by the Government must be specified in collective agreements. The same resolution formally prohibits the inclusion in
collective agreements of rates which have not been approved by the Government. If wage rates are included in a collective agreement, they are only the
application of the Government's plan for the accomplishment of which the
collective agreement has been drawn up. The first object of collective agreements is, therefore, to define the specific tasks and obligations devolving on the
undertakings and on their staffs in the accomplishment of the government plan.
In his report to the 11 th Congress of Soviet Trade Unions, the President
of the Soviet Trade Unions, Mr. Shvernik, declared that in a number of
undertakings collective agreements to ensure the accomplishment of the State
Plan and to improve living conditions, etc., were systematically ignored and
further that the accomplishment of the great tasks confronting the Soviet
people required the trade union organisations to enhance the importance of
collective agreements as a means of organising the masses in the struggle to
accomplish and exceed the State Plan and to improve the material and cultural
living standards of the workers.
172. In its first reply, dated 3 November 1954, the Government
gives the following explanations with respect to the policy concerning
wages and collective bargaining:
The trade unions of the U.S.S.R. are making constant efforts to raise the
cultural and material standard of living of the workers and employees even
more and to improve their living conditions.
The continuous rise of the national income is a sure sign of the increasing
well-being of the workers. Contrary to what happens in capitalist countries,
where more than half the national income is grasped by the exploiting classes,
the entire national income in the Soviet Union falls to the workers. To satisfy
their personal material and cultural needs, the workers of the U.S.S.R. receive

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

almost three-quarters of the national income; the remainder is used to increase
socialist productivity and serves other public and national ends.
Real wages are constantly rising in the U.S.S.R. The systematic lowering
of prices of current consumption goods and products is the main reason for
the increase in real wages. As the result of seven successive reductions the
retail prices of current consumption goods are now 2.4 times below those of
1947, the year in which the first reduction took place.
In the Soviet Union wages are not the only material benefits which the
workers receive. The State spends thousands of millions of roubles to provide
for the cultural and material needs of the workers without cost to them, to
ensure their education, protect their health and gives them social insurance
and study scholarships, as well as other allowances and advantages. During
the year 1953 these payments and free services to the population represented
a total sum more than three times higher than the corresponding figure for 1940.
The real wages of the workers and employees of the U.S.S.R. increased
by 65 per cent, from 1940 to 1953; and if account is taken of the increase
in state expenditure devoted to the cultural and material needs of the population. the total income of workers and employees increased by 89 per cent.
during this period.
In endeavouring to improve the workers' conditions of life, the trade
unions of the U.S.S.R. apply public supervision of the masses to the execution
of cultural, material and housing construction projects, to the improvement
of workers' canteens, shops, and municipal and city transport undertakings;
they participate in sharing out the housing space allotted to each person
accommodated in houses belonging to undertakings and institutions.
During 1953 the capital invested in housing construction was approximately
four times higher than that of 1940. In 1954 the capital invested increased by
35 per cent, compared with that of 1953. During the post-war years, 183
million square metres of housing floor space have been built and occupied, in
addition to more than 240,000 crèches and kindergartens, 856 scout holiday
centres and many other cultural and social institutions.
These facts and figures are eloquent proof of the scale of the work which
is being done in the Soviet State to raise the standard of living of the workers,
and of the continually increased material well-being and the cultural level
of the population. By their activities, the trade unions play a large part in
these achievements.
In accordance with their constitutions the trade unions take an active part
in the drafting of laws concerning labour, material and cultural problems
and in fixing wage scales and work-rate tables. The trade unions conclude
collective agreements with the directors of undertakings.
All questions concerning production, the material and social conditions
and cultural services provided for workers and salaried employees are dealt
with in the collective agreements.
Negotiations for the conclusion of collective agreements are carried out
by the representatives of the directorates of undertakings, on the one hand,
and representatives of the workers in the undertaking, on the other. These
collective agreements lay down the conditions of work of both workers and
salaried employees, the level of wages, etc. Collective agreements are designed
to encourage subsequent improvement in the material position of the workers
and employees, the improvement of cultural and social services for the workers,
to ensure healthy working conditions and proper safety measures. The collective agreements guarantee workers and employees the right to rest, periods
of stay in rest homes, sanatoria, tourist centres, etc. For workers with a
dependent family, the collective agreements ensure the placement of their

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

children in crèches, nurseries, kindergartens and other similar institutions, if
and when the parents themselves wish this and to the extent which they desire.
The collective agreements also provide for funds to be allocated to housing
construction for workers and employees and to building clubs and other
cultural and educational institutions.
The workers and employees take a most active part in drafting all these
provisions of the collective agreements. Joint meetings of workers and salaried
employees discuss the questions relating to the conclusion of collective agreements. The workers and employees put forward their demands quite freely,
and these serve to guide their representatives during the negotiations with
factory managements. Furthermore, the workers and salaried employees can
also express their point of view to their representatives who negotiate the
agreements. The requests and wishes of the workers in relation to collective
agreements are freely discussed in the press. If necessary the workers and
employees criticise the progress of negotiations in the papers. These negotiations are carried on freely and openly and each worker has the right to comment on them.
Every year the collective agreements are concluded afresh in each undertaking, taking into account any new wishes expressed by the workers and
employees.
173. At its 11th Session (February 1955) the Committee examined
the principal texts appearing at the present time to govern the question
of collective agreements and the system of wages in the U.S.S.R., namely
the Preamble to the Constitution and Rules of the Trade Unions, the
decree of 4 February 1947 respecting the conclusion of collective
agreements in undertakings and the decision of the Presidium of the
All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions of the same year.
174. The Preamble to the Constitution and Rules of the Trade
Unions provides, in particular, that the trade unions " take part in
planning and regulating wages and in framing systems of pay in accordance with the socialist principle of payment by the amount and quality
of work performed, promote the introduction of progressive, technologically substantiated output rates and see that work is recorded
properly and that the piece-rates and progressive bonus system of
payment is operated correctly ".
175. The decree of 4 February 1947 concerning the conclusion of
collective agreements in the undertakings includes in particular the
following provisions with respect to the contents of the agreements :
Model collective agreements will be approved by the All-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions and by the ministries concerned.
Collective agreements must be concluded in undertakings in conformity
with the State Plan for 1947 as approved by the competent ministries. The
procedure for concluding collective agreements is laid down in directives issued
by these ministries and by the central trade union committees and approved
by the Ail-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

These directives must contain the following:
index figures, approved for the undertakings on the basis of the State
Plan for 1947, regarding the volume of production (expressed as absolute
figures or as percentages of the corresponding figures for the previous
year), productivity, wages, production costs and funds to be allocated
for housing, construction for cultural purposes, and labour protection;
(b) index figures for initial training and for further training to enhance
skills of workers and salaried employees;
(c) index figures, approved in accordance with the plan for each undertaking, regarding activities in auxiliary occupations, and particularly
the increase in stock and poultry raising;
(d) index figures relating to plans for the building of individual houses and
indications as to the extent and character of the aid to be accorded to
individual builders;
(e) directives addressed to trade union committees in establishments concerning the development of socialist emulation, assistance to workers,
technicians and salaried employees with a view to improving their
occupational skills, supervision of application of labour legislation and
of the correct application of the systems of remuneration in force, and
measures relating to the strengthening of labour discipline and to
combating loss of time and bad work.
(a)

176. The decision of the Presidium of the All-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions, referred to by the complainant, reproduces
the various provisions of the decree quoted above and defines their
contents, and, in its paragraph 6 entitled " Wages and Output Standards",
gives the following details concerning the nature of the provisions on
those matters which must be inserted in collective agreements :
Collective agreements must indicate the straight piece-work rates, progressive piece-work rates and bonus rates approved by the Government. During
the proceedings preparatory to the conclusion of collective agreements,
managements and works committees must examine all jobs paid at time rates
and determine which of these might be paid by results. Collective agreements
must include definite undertakings concerning the introduction of technical
standards into the establishments in 1947 instead of obsolete standards of
empirical or statistical origin.
Trade union organisations are required to verify systematically whether
the workers receive their instructions in good time and whether remuneration
and deductions are correctly calculated.
Collective agreements must indicate the obligations of the management
regarding dates of payment of wages and salaries.
Trade union organisations are required to ensure that collective agreements
shall not stipulate any system of remuneration for workers, technicians or
salaried employees which has not been approved by the Government, and
that there is no deviation from the standard occupational grading and the
standard wage scales and rates of pay.
177. The Committee, after having examined these various texts
and taking as its basis the Preamble to the Constitution and Rules of
the Trade Unions providing that " trade unions take part in planning

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

and regulating wages and in framing systems of pay in accordance with
the socialist system of payment by the amount and quality of work
performed ", and also having regard to the fact that wages funds are
established in accordance with the State Plan, expressed to the Government of the U.S.S.R. its desire to know through what machinery and at
what stages the trade unions take part in framing and applying wage
regulations and what means they have of, where necessary, bringing
influence to bear on government decisions in the matter of wages and
conditions of employment.
178. In its second communication, dated 5 November 1955, and
in other communications to the International Labour Office, dated 10
August 1955 and 1 November 1955, the Government gives the following
supplementary information concerning the system of collective agreements in the U.S.S.R. and the participation of occupational associations
in the preparation of wages policy.
179. With regard to the conception of collective agreements in the
U.S.S.R., the Government states that—
In the Soviet State, where there is no exploitation of man by man and
where production is consequently organised in such a way as to give maximum
satisfaction to the material and cultural requirements of society as a whole,
a collective agreement is a bilateral commitment equally reflecting both the
interests of the undertaking and the personal and material interest taken in
its success by every individual worker and by the staff in its entirety. Any
increase in production or improvement in the quality of the undertaking's
products has a direct influence in raising the standard of living of the population and the earnings of the working people and in cutting the cost of industrial
and other products, and it also enables the State to increase the sums of
money it allocates to public health, education, housing and social insurance.
180. With regard to the nature of collective agreements, the Government states that they represent a bilateral commitment.
In the conditions prevailing in the U.S.S.R. the workers are employed in
publicly owned undertakings, where production is subordinate to the interests
of the workers themselves. For this reason collective agreements commit the
parties both in respect of questions of production and also in respect of further
improvements of the working conditions, material welfare and cultural
circumstances of the employees.
181. With regard to the procedure for concluding collective agreements the Government explains in its reply that—
The draft of a collective agreement is drawn up jointly by trade union
representatives and representatives of management in the light of any special
features of production and employment in the undertaking. Before being
signed, the collective agreement is discussed at workshop and general meetings
of the wage-earning and salaried employees concerned, who carefully consider
the draft text, criticise it freely and put forward their own amendments and

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

additions. As far as the content is concerned, each undertaking prepares its
own agreement, which is different from those prepared by other undertakings
and reflects the requirements of the workers and of the undertaking itself.
182. With respect to the effects of the collective agreements, the
Government explains that it is applicable to all the workers and employees of the undertaking, whether they are or are not members of the
union which concludes the agreement.
183. Finally, the Government states that—
The collective agreements concluded in each Soviet undertaking are individual in character; this is also true of the collective agreement concluded in
the Stalin Factory, which is comparable only in structure and in form with
those concluded in other undertakings in the automobile construction industry.
184. With respect to the role of the trade unions in the preparation
of wages policy, the Government gives the following details :
The Soviet trade unions take an active part in planning and regulating the
remuneration of wage-earnings and salaried employees and in drafting laws
on questions of production, labour, living conditions and culture. They also
strive to ensure that such laws are strictly implemented.
All governmental ordinances relating to wages and other questions of concern to the working population are drawn up in concert with the unions and are
adopted with the approval of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions.
The Soviet trade unions fully avail themselves of these rights and possibilities. Wage rates are fixed by agreement with the Ail-Union Central
Council of Trade Unions and the central committees of the branch unions,
i.e. with authorities that are the elected representatives of the workers belonging
to the unions. In addition, piece-rates are fixed and applied by agreement
between the management of the undertaking and the elected factory or works
committee of the union.
The practice of dealing with problems of wage rates at the level of the
central committees of the branch unions is conducive to standard conditions
of employment in the undertakings in a given branch, all of which are socialist
undertakings under public ownership. It should be borne in mind in this
connection that in many Western countries the trade union movement is
fighting for the right to settle wage questions by negotiation for each branch
of industry in its entirety, and in some countries has already won this right.
185. It would appear from this survey of the respective arguments
presented that collective agreements in the U.S.S.R., while they offer
certain analogies with collective agreements in other countries, nevertheless differ in nature, purpose and content from the traditional collective agreements freely concluded by workers and employers.
186. The Government of the U.S.S.R. has argued in substance that
owing to the very nature of the system of organisation of its economy
there is no opposition of interest as between the heads of undertakings
and the workers, but " an identity of tasks which devolve on the management of a socialist undertaking as representative of the socialist state,

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

which itself is the expression of the general interests of the whole of the
workers, and those which devolve on the trade union committee as
representative of the interests of the collectivity of workers and employees in the undertaking in question. This identity of essential tasks
flows in the last analysis from the fundamental economic low of socialism,
which demands that socialist production shall be constantly developed
and perfected by better techniques in order to ensure the maximum
satisfaction of the material and cultural needs of the whole socialist
society, which increase unceasingly."
According to the Government, this identity of tasks explains why the
object of collective agreements is to ensure the execution and surpassing
of production plans, a condition for the progressive improvement of the
standard of living of the workers.
187. The Committee considers that it is not called upon to express a
view on systems of collective agreements in force in different countries
except in so far as such a system may impair the right of trade unions to
assume freely the defence of the workers, it being of little importance
whether the latter are in the service of private employers or of the State
as an employer.
188. It would appear from the texts referred to above and from the
details given by the complainant and by the Government that, while
collective agreements in the U.S.S.R. contain provisions relating to
wages and other conditions of employment, these provisions are based on
indices fixed by the State Plan from which the parties cannot deviate.
In other words, the determination of basic wages and fundamental conditions of employment is outside the scope of regulation by collective
agreements.
189. In an earlier case, relating to Greece 1 , the complainant
criticised the method of fixing wages then in force in Greece and demanded that they should be fixed by collective bargaining and readjusted
to the cost of üving. The Greek Government having confined itself to a
statement that the complaint related especially to questions connected
with general economic policy, the Committee made the following
comments :
It may be observed in this connection that, while the demand for a readjustment of wages to the cost of living may be mainly a question of an economic
character and not connected with freedom of association, the same is not
true with regard to the question as to the method of fixing wages by collective
agreements which is also raised in the complaint. The development of procedures for the voluntary negotiation of collective agreements in fact constitutes an important aspect of freedom of association. However, it would
1

See Sixth Report of the Committee, Case No. 55, paragraphs 922-924.

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

be difficult to lay down an absolute rule concerning this matter because, under
certain circumstances, governments might feel that the economic position of
their countries called at certain times for stabilisation measures during the
application of which it would not be possible for wage rates to be fixed freely
through the medium of collective bargaining. Hence the Committee considers
that the economic position of Greece during recent years may have justified
the adoption of such stabilisation measures, but observes that, at a later date
and subsequent to the presentation of the complaint, the Greek Government
enlarged the role of collective bargaining by adopting Act No. 2053 of
23 April 1952 regulating collective relations and labour disputes. This Act
provides for the establishment of a council of 16 members, including five
representatives of the State, five representatives of employers and five representatives of workers ; it is the duty of the council, in particular, to approve
collective agreements or administrative decisions concerning wages, to fix
wages itself in certain cases and to endeavour to extend the field of collective
agreements.
In those circumstances the Committee recommended the Governing
Body to decide that the ground of complaint in question did not call for
further examination.
190. In the present case, the control of wages appears to be an
inherent feature of the actual system of the Soviet economy, by reason
of the fact that wages funds are established in accordance with the
State Plan which governs all social relationships in the U.S.S.R.
191. In these circumstances the question of the defence of the
occupational interests of the workers and, in particular, of rates of wages,
arises less at the level of the undertaking where collective agreements
are concluded than at the national level, that is to say, at the time when
the wages policy is actually drawn up.
192. Given this situation, the question of knowing whether and to
what extent trade unions participate in the preparation of wages policy
is of particular importance as an element in judging the role of the trade
unions in the defence of the occupational interests of the workers.
193. It would appear from the details given by the Government
and referred to above in paragraph 184 that all decisions of the Government concerning the remuneration of labour are prepared in consultation
with the trade unions, that wages rates are fixed in agreement with the
All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the central committees
of the trade unions for each branch of industry and, finally, that piecework rates are determined and applied by agreement between the
managements of undertakings and the works committees elected by the
trade unions.
194. In this connection the Committee notes that the collective
agreements concluded by the Soviet trade unions are different in character

23RD REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION

from collective agreements freely negotiated between employers and
workers in that, while such collective agreements contain provisions
relating to wages and other conditions of employment, the determination
of basic wages and fundamental conditions of employment are fixed
by the State Plan from which the parties cannot deviate and which lie
outside the scope of regulation by collective agreement ; it notes the
statement made by the Government that all decisions of the Government
concerning the remuneration of labour are prepared in consultation
with the trade unions, that wage rates are fixed in agreement with the
All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions and the central committees
of the trade unions for each branch of industry, and that piece-work
rates are determined and applied by agreement between the managements
of undertakings and works committees elected by the trade unions.
It considers that the extent to which such participation effectively
ensures the participation of the trade unions in the determination of
wages and conditions of employment and the extent to which the inclusion
in such collective agreements of provisions relating to output is consistent
with the fulfilment by the trade unions of their responsibility for protecting
the interests of the workers depends on the degree of freedom enjoyed
by the trade unions in other respects which it has examined in connection
with other allegations. It considers that the documentation before it
in the present case is, nevertheless, not sufficient to enable it to appreciate
fully the role which the trade unions may play in the preparation and
application of the wages policy at the different levels of the national
economy, and, above all, does not enable it to appreciate what means
of influencing this policy are available to trade unions.
Allegation relating to Certain Trade Union Duties, Especially with Respect to
Output, Claimed to Be Incompatible with the Objects of Trade Unions.
195. The complainant, citing as evidence various provisions of the
Constitution and Rules of the Soviet Trade Unions, directives given by
higher trade union organs and statements made by Soviet trade union
leaders, alleges that the Soviet trade unions have as their tasks to
strengthen the supervision exercised over the workers, to impose strict
discipline on the workers, and in particular, to force the workers to
make ever greater efforts. It is contended that these tasks being imposed
upon the trade unions is further evidence of the fact that no free trade
union movement exists in the U.S.S.R.
196. The complainant argues that the Constitution and Rules of
the Soviet Trade Unions place in the foreground of trade union functions
such questions as the organisation of emulation among the workers,

TRADE UNION RIGHTS IN THE U.S.S.R.

the maximum increasing of productivity, the accomplishment and
surpassing of state plans, the improvement of quality, reduction of
manufacturing costs, etc.
197. It is alleged that Mr. N. M. Shvernik, former President of the
All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, declared at the 11th
Congress of Soviet Trade Unions that the Soviet trade unions had been
considerably active in mobilising the workers to battle for the accomplishment and exceeding of national economic plans and that, while the Communist Party had entrusted to the trade unions extremely important tasks
in connection with the future development of the economy, the trade
unions must improve their activity in the direction of the organisation
of socialist competition to increase productivity.
198. The Government stated, among other things, in its reply of
3 November 1954, that, the exploitation of man by man having been
eliminated in the Soviet Union, the position of the working class is
radically changed : instead of being a downtrodden and exploited class
it has become a leading and directing class. In such conditions, Soviet
citizens do not work to enrich capitalists but for the advantages of
society as a whole, in other words themselves. They know that the more
production is increased the greater will be the income of the workers.
It is for this reason that socialist emulation, which developed in the
Soviet Union from the very first years of the Soviet régime, has now
become transformed into a movement encompassing the whole people
and whose objective is to increase output. This is the reason why the
Soviet trade unions, which really represent the interests of the workers,
take a vigorous part in organising socialist emulation and collaborate
in perfecting the socialist structure of the country.
199. The Government adds that in Soviet undertakings productivity
and the improvement in the quality of products has come not as a
result of increased physical efforts on the part of the workers but through
the rationalisation and perfection of production methods.
200. The Committee considers that the measures taken by the trade
unions to promote production and productivity are an integral part
of the trade union policy with respect to collective agreements and wages
which was the subject of a detailed examination in paragraphs 166
to 194 above.
201. In these circumstances, the Committee considers this aspect
of the complaint to be covered by the observations made in paragraphs
166 to 194 above.