Demarcation of representatives and intermediaries in legal relations regulated by labor law

About the author:

Larisa V. Zaytseva, Dr. Sci. (Jur.), Head of Labor and Entrepreneurship Department, University of Tyumen; l.v.zajceva@utmn.ru; ORCID: 0000-0001-6134-3734

Abstract:

Representatives of the parties involved in labor and other concerned relations in some cases can perform intermediary functions. In addition, state government and local bodies in some cases of social partnership may act as representatives of employers, in others — as independent parties in negotiations, expressing public interest, whose activity according to its nature may be described as mediation and is aimed to ensure the interaction of trade unions and employers' associations. On the other hand, mediators in certain legal relations, for example, in employment can be seen as representatives of the party which was first to apply for mediation in search for a job or necessary staff. 
Confusion of a representative and a mediator may cause ineffective protection of the rights and legitimate interests of the main subjects of labor law-workers and employers. The following article discusses the problem of distinguishing functions of a representative and a mediator. The paper considers the legal status of representatives and mediators in relations regulated by labor law, as well as key criteria to distinguish these entities from each other.

References:

1. Apellyacionnoe opredelenie Kemerovskogo oblastnogo suda [The Appellate Decision of Kemerovo Regional Court] (2014), case no 33-2381/2014, available at: http://sudact.ru/regular/doc/ (in Russian).
2. Apellyacionnoe opredelenie Murmanskogo oblastnogo suda [The Appellate Decision of Murmansk Regional Court] (2015), case no 33-1161/2015, available at: http://sudact.ru/regular/doc/ (in Russian).
3. Zaitseva L. V. (2012), Mediativnye tehnologii v trudovyh i neposredstvenno svyazannyh s nimi otnosheniyah [Mediation Technologies in Labor and Related Relations], Trudovoe pravo v Rossii i za rubezhom [Labor Law in Russia and Abroad], no 1, pp. 36-39 (in Russian).
4. Zakon RF “O zanyatosti naseleniya v Rossiyskoy Federacii” [The Law of the Russian Federation “On Employment in the Russian Federation”] (1996), no 1032-1, Sobramije zakonov RF [Code of the Russian Federation], no 17, article 1915 (in Russian).
5. Kodeks zakonov o trude RSFSR (utratil silu) [Labor Code of RSFSR (void)] (1971), Vedomosti VS RSFSR [Gazette of the Supreme Soviet of RSFSR], no 50, article 1007 (in Russian). 
6. Nurtdinova A. F. (1998), Kollektivno-dogovornoe regulirovanie trudovyh otnosheniy: teoreticheskie problemy [Collective-contractual Regulation of Labor Relations. Conceptual Problems], Abstract of the Diss. Cand. Sci. (Law), Moscow (in Russian).
7. Reshenie Arbitrazhnogo suda g. Moskvy [The Arbitral Award of the Arbitration Court of Moscow] (2015), case no A40-45192/2015, available at: http://sudact.ru/regular/doc/ (in Russian).
8. Reshenie Oktyabrskogo rayonnogo suda g. Murmanska [The Decision of Oktyabrsky District Court of Murmansk] (2015), no 1709/2015 2-1709/2015 2-1709/2015~M-876/2015 M-876/2015, available at: http://sudact.ru/regular/doc/ (in Russian).
9. Sapfirova A. A. (2009), Federalnaya inspekciya truda i gosudarstvennyy trudovoy arbitrazh: sootnoshenie kompetencii [Federal Labor Inspectorate and State Labor Arbitrage. The Ratio of the Competence], Trudovoe pravo [Labor Code], no 9, pp. 13-20 (in Russian).
10.  Trudovoy kodeks Rossiyskoy Federacii [The Labor Code of the Russian Federation] (2002), no 197-Federal Law, Sobranije Zakonov RF [Code of the Russian Federation], no 1 (part 1), article 3 (in Russian).
11.  Federalnyy zakon “O professionalnyh soyuzah, ih pravah i garantiyah deyatelnosti” [Federal Law “On Trade Unions, Their Rights and Guarantees”] (1996), no 10, Sobranije Zakonov RF [Code of the Russian Federation], no 3, article 148 (in Russian).
12.  Federalnyy zakon “Ob obedineniyah rabotodateley” [The Federal Law “On Associations of Employers”] (2002), no 156, Sobranije Zakonov RF [Code of the Russian Federation], no 48, article 4741 (in Russian).