But if the workers can defend their interests only in the course of the class fight what is any form of a labour law for them? The winner does not need it at all. It is the loser who needs protection against sacking, lockouts, ``black lists'', fines, ``compensation'' for the losses incurred by employers, or, which is even worse, for the profits the employers might find themselves short of. Solving these issues is dependent upon the Labor Law (KZoT) as well as provision of a guaranteed minimum of essential rights. They are the maximum working day and week duration, limitation female and children's labour an absolute ban on the salary reduction and a worsening of the labourers' working condition. The Labour Code should also regulate the action of trade unions, labour disputes committees. It should establish ``the human rules of war waging''. All this can be found in the current Law. Even in these conditions the wage labours can not realize a small part of the rights they have according to the law at a majority of big enterprises, not to say about small businesses. And no code can be any help here. This is a result of the general weakness of the labour movement. However, as the strike activity increases, he situation is found to change. Our bourgeoisie are already preparing for an upswing of the labour movement which is looming now. The new code can become the mightiest tool in the hands of the bourgeois reaction being aimed against the trade unions and labour activists. The code draft contains all the necessary for it. After obtaining a permit of the State Labour Inspection (a bourgeois state's body) the administration can now give the sack to members of the trade union committees and labor disputes committees. Half of the latter should be appointed now by administration. Besides the administration can now make the so called ``black lists'' of labour activists and take advantage of them. There are also legal prereguisities for the prosecution of trade unions, imposition of penalties on them and even their liquidation. The system of temporary contracts which split and weakens the working class will be developed in future according to this document. It should be noticed that the contract system widely accepted now in the employment can be successfully disputed in court by trade unions. Tomorrow it will become impossible. The general tendency which is clearly seen in the document is the strive for a decrease of the trade unions' role. Today the trade union provided it carries out its activities in reality but not only in words has the right to completely hinder any decrease in the wages and tariffs, prevent a worsening of labour conditions and norms. It confirms awarding the bonuses, issues the holiday schedules. Nothing of the kind is available in the governmental draft of a new law. According to it the administration is not bound any longer to provide the trade union with premises, telephone, etc. Apparently the trade union committees are supposed to be driven away from the territory of enterprises.
This attack on the trade unions is the key moment. How ever pathetic a sight they represent now in their mass this is potentially a huge power. To enable it to reveal its potential a mobilisation of the masses is necessary. Each and every union organizer should a hundred or thousand times answer the question: ``That have you done for the defence of the old Labour Low?''. If a sufficient pressure on the union activists from below can be successfully created, then an unavoidable mobilisation of workers for mass action and general strikes and protest campaign will change the face of nowadays FNPR trade unions. It will clear them of the bureaucratic and treacherous elements.
But the union bosses will newer come themselves to mobilising the masses. Only the leftist political forces can do it. There are all conditions for it. The governmental draft of the low affects to a certain extent the interests of dozens of millions of workers. How is to be counted the right of the employers to encrease the work week duration to 56 hour and work day duration to 12 hours respectively, to arbitrary decrease the wages and salaries (at the worker's will, you just try to resist it!), to transfer the workers into part-time status or assign to the work not stipulated in the contract.
The women's conditions are getting worse. The child-birth vacation is expected to be reduced twice to be one and half years as short it is now. Non paid vacation won't be included into the seniority time. And compete illegal ``above-the-top'' available now in small business is supposed to be legalized.
All this can encourage even the most passive workers to fight. However, this never happens spontaneously.There are two stomling blocks the way to it. First, the overwhelming majority of the working people do not have the slightest idea of the essence of the new Code, of what they are threatened with. Second, the parliamentary illusions -- the ``communists'' will undoubtedly hamper passing the code in the State Duma but do not relish these prospects. What is more possible that is CPRF will try to ``ameliorate better'' the document or breed it will an alternative one. It can suddenly emerge from the depths of different conciliatory commissions and be passed without too much noise at a proper moment. If the project can be stopped from being passed by the Duma it can be possible only during the first reading, without discussing it in depth but there is little hope for it. Thus, during the first stage, the fight will be carried on for the sake of propaganda. The accentuation of it is necessary. There is little time left. In case if this anti-code campaign finds a broad response among the masses of workers then the governmental draft of the law will be undoubtedly ditched at the next stage -- during mass actions.