‘Safety’ or ‘Protection’ of Labor as the Basis for the Development of Laws on Protection of Life and Health of Employees

A comparative analysis of the categories “labor safety” and “labor protection” as a fundamental basis for the formation of labor law norms is carried out. The International Labor Organization considers the concept of “safety and health at work” a priority. In Russia, labor law was formed using the basic concept of “labor protection”. The Labor Code of the Russian Federation understands labor safety too narrowly — only as the protection of persons working in special conditions. The proposals of scientists to replace the concept of “labor protection” with “labor safety” in the norms of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation are recognized as erroneous. In the interests of expanding the boundaries of protecting the rights of workers, it is proposed to legally recognize safety and labor protection as coinciding concepts and build the regulation of labor relations on this basis.