Temporary Workers

under Soviet labor law, indus-trial and office workers hired for a specific period (less than two months) or for an indeterminate period (but no more than two months), or workers hired for more than two months (but for no more than four months) to replace temporarily absent workers whose jobs are held for them by law. Working per-sons hired as temporary workers must be informed of their status; otherwise they are considered permanent workers. Permanent status automatically applies to temporary workers (from the time they start the job) who have worked longer than the maximum permitted by law for temporary work and also to temporary workers rehired at the same enterprise (institution) after dismissal from it if the interval has not exceeded one week and the total time worked before and after the interval exceeds the applicable limit of either two or four months.

General labor legislation applies to temporary workers, with a few exceptions. Temporary workers hired for specific periods may be dismissed if they are sick for more than one week. Temporary workers hired for an indeterminate period may be dismissed any time without explanation. Temporary workers are not entitled to vacation. Work conditions of temporary workers are regulated by the decree of Jan. 14, 1927, of the Central Executive Committee and the Sovnarkom (Council of People’s Commissars) of the USSR (Collection of Laws of the USSR, 1927, no. 9, art. 80).