Moscow mayor asked not to fine CSOs for not reporting vaccinations
The Mayor of Moscow asked not to fine CSOs because of problems with vaccination reporting
21.07.2021
The request has been made in the form of a letter signed by the Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights, the Ministry of Economic Development and the Federation’s Public Chamber.
The letter, which has been seen by ASI’s editorial board, says that CSOs risk being fined for failing to submit reports on vaccinated employees on time. The signatories explain why CSOs are having problems. For example, the authorities are refusing to process CSO reports due to a lack of reliable data and the fact that the average number of employees might not tally with information held by the Federal Tax Service.
CSOs cannot solve this problem as they cannot say when a request will be dealt with due to the extensive length of time they spend manning their hotlines. As a result, it is impossible to carry out checks to comply with the requirements of Moscow’s Chief Medical Officer. Suspension of unvaccinated employees has no bearing on reporting: this data is not taken into account. (Why Muscovites still don’t want to be vaccinated – See here)
Those behind the appeal also point out that employers cannot force employees working under civil law contracts or those who left their job at the time of reporting to be vaccinated. Some one-off service providers are unwilling to report proof of vaccination or provide compulsory health insurance numbers.
The situation is also critical for CSOs. Service providers working under civil law contracts could account for more than 40% of the number of insured personnel. The issue of one-off service providers in the regions remains unresolved as they are on the Federal Tax Service’s database but not actually working in Moscow.
Another problem is that some employees and service providers working under civil law contracts are highly-skilled specialists. Their suspension from work could affect the outcome of major social projects.
The signatories of the letter are asking Moscow’s Mayor, Sergey Sobyanin, to:
- Not impose sanctions on CSOs based on the assessment of submissions on the number of vaccinated employees;
- Clarify that data on the number of employees and those already vaccinated should only be submitted for those on current employment contracts;
- Remove the obligation on employers to report on the availability of vaccinations for service providers employed under civil law contracts;
- Define the procedure and timeframe for reviewing organisations’ requests to make changes to their submissions and explain the consequences of failing to provide guidance to CSOs about non-acceptance of their reports;
- Allow CSOs not to suspend employees and service providers with civil law employment contracts without pay, provided that the organisation complies with the requirement to have a 60% vaccination rate as of the current date.
Translated by Neil Hailey
