RUSSIA: Drink responsibly

A top Russian official has called upon state-owned arms producers to introduce an ethics code to battle alcohol abuse in the workplace.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets, addressing human resources directors of major state-owned companies, lamented “a propensity for alcohol abuse” at those plants. She said “the lack of discipline” comes with a “high price not only for the factories, but for humankind.”

Among the meeting’s participants were representatives of the manufacturer of air-defense missile systems Almaz-Antei and nuclear corporation Rosatom.

A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2015 showed that 30 percent of Russian deaths in 2012 were due to alcohol, the highest ratio among the nations tracked. Privately owned companies have been raising alarms about alcohol and drug addiction among Russian workers as well.

The Associated Press