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Coronavirus pandemic

3.5 mln Russians work from home currently

The Ministry of Labor stressed that at the height of the pandemic, up to 5.5 mln Russians worked away from the office

© Artyom Geodakyan/TASS

MOSCOW, November 11. / TASS /. About 3.5 million Russians work from home, while in 2019 only 30,000 worked remotely, said Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection Elena Mukhtiyarova announced on Wednesday at the ASI forum "Strong Ideas for New Time".

"Now there are big changes in employment, they are associated with digitalization - technical progress. For example: last year at this time, 30,000 citizens in Russia worked remotely. Now, as of yesterday, 3.5 mln Russian citizens work in this format," said Mukhtiyarova at the "Labor market 2035. Services for citizens and business" session. She recalled that at the height of the pandemic, up to 5.5 mln Russians worked away from the office.

In July, at a plenary session, the State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill on the specifics of regulating remote work. The initiative supplements and details the provisions of Chapter 49.1 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation. The draft law contains norms concerning working hours and rest of employees performing their duties remotely, regulates the types of distance employment, the grounds for their application, as well as the procedure for interaction between the employee and the employer.

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