Vladimir Putin has called for trade unions not to interfere in parliamentary and presidential election campaigns, RIA-Novosti reported Tuesday.

Putin made the official statement at Russian Federation of Independent Trade Unions conference. President said he understood how difficult it is to abstain from using the elections to resolve tactical problems and urged the unions to carry out stable and balanced work, which is not timed to political events in the country.

Putin does not mind Russian trade unions to cooperate with authorities or businessmen in case the cooperation would not be politicized.

President has also criticized trade unions for their inactivity and failure to observe environmental legislation, which often leads to fatal accidents.

“Trade unions sometimes fail to take responsibility for resolving specific work problems and disputes, remain passive and play a purely formal role in protecting the interests of workers and staff teams,” Vladimir Putin said.

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