Soviet Archives - Collection of Government Documents on Workers

From the Collection of enactment and decrees of the government for 1921, Administration of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR

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Article No. 227.

Decree of the Council of Peopleʹs Commissars.

About labor desertion.

As amended by its Resolution of May 4, 1920 (No. 35, Art. 168), the Council of Peopleʹs Commissars decided:

1.                   Labor desertion is recognized as: a) evasion from registration or registration established by the bodies announcing or conducting labor mobilizations; b) evasion of the appearance for the appointment of persons called up in the order of labor mobilization, and the evasion of the appearance at work of the persons who received the appointment; c) unauthorized abandonment of work or service and unauthorized transfer to service in another institution and enterprise; d) evasion from appearing in the bodies of registration and distribution of labor after dismissal from work from service; e) any evasion of labor service by forging documents, occupying fictitious positions, fictitious business trips, simulating illness, etc.

2.                   The fight against labor desertion and all kinds of concealment, complicity, connivance and incitement to desertion shall be entrusted to the Central Commission for the Fight against Labor Desertion under the Peopleʹs Commissariat of Labor and its local bodies under the provincial and district Labor Departments.

3.                   Provincial and Uyezd Commissions for Combating Labor Desertion are granted the right to administratively impose the following penalties on labor deserters, concealers, accomplices, etc.: Provincial Commissions ‐ putting on a black board, fine, assignment to forced labor up to 1 month; Uyezd ‐ putting on a black board, fine, assignment to forced labor up to 2 weeks. Cases entailing by their nature or consequences a more severe punishment, as well as cases exceeding or not falling within the competence of the Commission for Combating Labor Desertion, are referred to the Disciplinary Courts of Comrades, Peopleʹs Courts or the Revolutionary Tribunal according to their affiliation.

Note 1 . Enforcement of the decisions of the Commission for Combating Labor Desertion on the imposition of administrative penalties shall be assigned to the Departments of the Administration of Local Executive Committees.

Note 2 . The monetary fine should not exceed five times the cost of work paid at free prices, subject to execution in the order of service.

4.                   Commissions for the fight against labor desertion are granted the right to investigate and refer cases of crimes and omissions of officials contributing to desertion, although not directly aiding, conniving or harboring labor deserters.

5.                   The fight against any violations of labor discipline and productivity in enterprises and institutions is carried out by the bodies of trade unions in the order of the decree on disciplinary comradely courts (1921, No. 23‐24, art. 142).

Signed by:

Chairman of the Council of Peopleʹs Commissars V. Ulyanov (Lenin).

N. Gorbunov, Administrator of the Council of Peopleʹs Commissars .

L. Fotieva, Secretary of the Council of Peopleʹs Commissars .

May 9, 1921.

Published in No. 103 of Izvestia of the All‐Russian Central Executive

Committee of Soviets dated May 14, 1921.