Elements of Precarious Employment in the Work of Scientifc and Pedagogical Workers

Abstract

The paper highlights the problem of the growth of the segment of precarious employment in the work of researchers and the faculty, who work mainly in scientific and educational institutions (scientific and pedagogical workers). Besides the elements of precarious employment characteristic of the category of workers under consideration, the author considers the fixed-term nature of labor relations and the low level of the conditionally constant part of wages in the general structure of wages of scientific and pedagogical workers, which can be attributed to the legal prerequisites for the deterioration (precarization) of their labour regulation. In addition to the acts of federal legislation regulating the labor of scientific and pedagogical workers, the author analyzes the provisions of the relevant acts of social partnership for the period from 2015 untill 2023. The author highlights the problem of increasing the types of work included by the employer in the employment of the “second half of the day” of scientific and pedagogical workers without paying additional wages. The lack of legal regulation of the distribution of types of work performed by a scientific and pedagogical worker within a 36-hour working week is also noted by the author among the legal preconditions that, with appropriate law enforcement, worsen the conditions of employment of such workers due to the significantly increasing proportion of time that workers spend on achieving performance indicators and efficiency determined by the employer. In the conclusion of the paper, the author justifies amendments to the legislation in terms of regulating a fixed-term employment contract, establishing the share of guaranteed wages in the overall structure of wages, regulating the types of work included in the working hours of scientific and pedagogical workers at the level of a by-law, which cumulatively will promote sustainability of employment conditions for employees and improve their legal status.