Moscow, June 9. An Alliance of Employers of Oil and Gas Industry has been established in Russia, ITAR-TASS reports. A constitutive meeting of a new organization has taken place today at the State Duma. The aim of the organization is to defend the interests and rights of more than 1,5 million employees of oil and gas industry. The Alliance expects main market players to join it.
The President of Russian Gas Society (RGS), vice-speaker of the State Duma Valeri Yazev characterized establishment of the Alliance as “an important event for the oil and gas industry of the country”. At the present moment according to him 18 big, medium and small enterprises have entered into the Alliance. There were present “representatives of about 20 organizations more who expressed the wish to participate but they have complicated corporate procedures and it will take a month or two-three to make a legally correct decision for entering into our alliance”, said V.Yazev.
Speaking about main aims of establishing the Alliance of Employers of Oil and Gas Industry he stressed that it is created also “for taking part in the Tri-Partite Commission – Government, Trade Unions, Employers”. Besides there are “problems of building socially responsible business, work safety, tariff agreements, industrial agreements”.
“Oil and gas industry is a leading industry in the country that employs a lot of people and is a high technology sphere. It contributes about 40% to state budget but does not have such an alliance of employers”, — stated vice-speaker of the State Duma. He added that the Alliance would “in a short time submit documents for legal registration”. “Those who at the moment have not entered into the Alliance will have the right to do it later”, — confirmed the parliamentarian.
The chairman of the Oil and Gas Industrialists Union Yuri Shafranik reminded that “till this year both RGS and Oil and Gas Industrialists Union carried out certain functions for workers in our industries but the time has come and we have made a serious step having created the core”. He admitted that “companies have different attitudes” to the alliance but expressed the view that “only shortsightedness of a number of top managers makes them stay aside”.
Among enterprises that expressed “open reluctance to participate” in the Alliance was named in particular Surgutneftegaz. This company’s position was found “deeply erroneous”, mentioned Y.Shafranik. “Employers have a very responsible function and recent tragic events in coal industry stress that those who wait will “get punished”, - added the chairman of Oil and Gas Industrialists Union.
On his part the elected General director of the Alliance vice-president of RGS Oleg Zhilin answering the question: “who has not entered the alliance yet”, explained that “such big companies as Gazprom, Rosneft, Lukoil participated in working groups, but they may make decisions only after completion of certain corporate procedures”. He also pointed out that “the majority of their affiliated societies that considered our documents had supported us”.