Underground Work, Legal Regulation of

In The USSR, working conditions in underground work are regulated by a number of special provisions in addition to the general provisions of labor legislation. According to the Basic Principles of Labor Legislation of 1971 and the labor codes of the Union republics, use of the labor of women—except for nonphysical jobs or jobs relating to sanitary and domestic service— and of persons under 18 is generally prohibited in underground work. A shortened (six-hour) workday has been established for workers employed in coal, slate, and other mines, as well as for workers employed in building mine shafts, tunnels, and subways. In addition, underground workers receive a number of wage benefits greater than those of persons working in the same sectors aboveground. Workers employed underground whose occupations and positions are included on the List of Industries, Shops, Occupations, and Positions With Hazardous Working Conditions— which entitles them to additional vacation and a shortened workday (the list was ratified by the State Committee on Labor and Wages of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on Dec. 24, 1960)— receive additional vacation from six to 36 workdays, depending on the degree of danger of the work. Significant benefits have been instituted for workers employed underground with respect to pension support; old age and disability pensions for such workers— and for their families in the case of loss of the breadwinner— provide more benefits and have lower requirements for length of service and age. One is entitled to these special pensions if at least half of the length of service required for the pension was in underground work, regardless of the place of last employment.