OREANDA-NEWS. December 26, 2007. Paul Herbert, General Director of Ilim Group, and Valery Ochekurov, chairman of Russian forestry workers trade unions, have signed an agreement of partnership, the Ilim press service reported.

The agreement is aimed to further promote business and social partnership between Ilim Group and the central committee of the industry’s trade union, and fosters a constructive approach to various problems arising in the sphere of social and labour relations of the Group’s companies.

The agreement focuses on enhancing the Group’s efficiency in order to promote living standards of Ilim Group’s staff. The agreement secures performance guarantees according to the Labour Code of the Russian Federation, as well as additional liabilities related to voluntary health insurance and retirement benefits, approved with consideration for the opinion of the elective bodies within the trade unions. Apart from that, the two sides have developed a number of parameters to determine social packages for each Ilim Group’s branch.

In case of conflict situations, the two sides have agreed to immediately begin mutual consultation in order to solve disputable social and labour problems.