Today, at Gazprom’s headquarters, a Conference was held to adopt the 2004-2006 Collective Agreement that adjusts social and labour relationship between Gazprom’s top managers and employees. Over 120 delegates from the Company’s various departments took part in the Conference. The participants unanimously voted for adopting a new Collective Agreement. Boris Kuzmin, Head of Personnel Management Department, spoke on behalf of the employer, while Vera Shatalova, Trade Union Chairman, reperesented the employees’ interests.

As it was pointed out at the Conference, the new Collective Agreement had been elaborated based on the present Collective Agreement, with account of the requirements fixed in the RF Labour Code, Collective Agreements Act, Trade Unions Act and General Collective Agreement.

The Collective Agreement is to be sighned by Gazprom’s Managemenrt Committee Chairman, Alexey Miller, and the Company’s Trade Union Chairman, Vera Shatalova. The Agreement is concluded voluntarily and is aimed at increasing the efficiency of Gazprom’s operations and expanding the employees’ guarantees, privileges and remuneration.

The adoption of the new Collective Agreement is an integral part of Gazprom’s policy oriented at improving the employees’ social protection. The first step in this direction was the conclusion (in 2000) of the 2001-2003 Tariff Agreement between the Gazprom Group’s employees and top managers, as well as the conclusion (in March 2002) of the first Collective Agreement between the Company’s Administration’s top managers and employees.

The Commission for Settling Social and Labour Disputes in Gazprom will sum up the outcomes of the 2002-2003 Collective Agreement observance in the 1st quarter of 2004. As it was pointed out at the end of the Conference, the parties had mostly fulfilled their obligations in 2002-2003.

DIVISION OF RELATIONS WITH MASS MEDIA