19.08.2022 // In the Arctic, with its vast distances and almost total lack of roads, it is usually much more profitable to create rotational camps rather than permanent settlements with all the infrastructure. However, the benefits for the mining companies turn out to be a problem for the Arctic territories. This is why Yakutia has developed a concept for a draft law that would regulate the creation, operation and closure of rotational camps.

'There is no definition of "rotational camp" in modern Russian law. But in fact, they do exist, there are hundreds of them in Yakutia alone. Obviously, this problem needs to be solved at the level of federal legislation,' says Mikhail Kirillin, First Deputy Minister of Industry and Geology of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).

In Yakutia, 350 enterprises use the rotational method. There are more than 200 rotational and seasonal camps in the republic, employing 60,000 people.

'At present, the use of the rotational work organisation method is seen as the optimal model for the development of the Far East and the Arctic, but it does not contribute directly to resolving issues of socio-economic development of the territory where the rotational camps are located,' says Sakhamin Afanasiev, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the State Assembly of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) on Land Relations, Natural Resources and Ecology.

To date, in fact, all that local settlements get from the vicinity of rotational workers is the problem of disposal of industrial and domestic waste.

To remedy the situation, the Parliament of Yakutia has developed a draft law on rotational camps, which will regulate relations between rotational enterprises and the authorities of the territories where rotational camps are located.

'First of all, it is necessary to legalise their status, define the conditions of functioning, control by local authorities, regulate the environmental aspects of such camps and define the parameters of social security for employees. A statutory act should define not only the status of the rotational camp but also its place in the administrative-territorial structure of the region,' says Mikhail Kirillin.

Yakutia proposes to oblige companies to obtain a permit for the establishment of a rotational camp and to agree on the mode of its operation and closure. The draft law would also specify such things as job quotas for local specialists or the provision of timely medical care for rotational workers. A mandatory item is the conclusion of cooperation agreements that will ensure participation in socio-economic development programmes and projects.

Yakutia is convinced that the adoption of a law on rotational camps is necessary so that their emergence will contribute to improving the quality and standard of living of the population in the regions where they operate.