On May 20, a webinar was held on the theme: “From urgent anti-crisis measures in the context of the COVID — 19 pandemic to economic recovery-decent work in the spotlight”, organized by the ILO Office in Moscow within the framework of the project “Partnerships in the field of youth employment in the CIS”.
From the Federation of trade unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the online event was attended by Gulnara Jumageldiyev, Nazgul Esteva, Casein Isangazin, Bakhytzhan Kuanyshev, Zauresh Umirbaev.
During the online meeting, participants discussed ILO recommendations to mitigate the impact of the socio-labor crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. As noted, the measures proposed by the international organization are based on analytical reviews of the labor market and expert assessments.
Olga Kulayeva, Director of the decent work technical support Group and the ILO Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, stressed that the global labor markets are experiencing tremendous pressure in the context of the pandemic, compared with the crisis of the post-war years.
Thus, the ILO recommends that States focus their efforts on three main goals — protecting and protecting the health of workers; maintaining demand for labour; and stimulating the economy through sustained social dialogue.
Mikhail Pushkin, chief employment specialist of the decent work technical support Group and the ILO Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, in turn, noted the need for large-scale and coordinated policy measures to ensure employment and income support, as well as stimulate the economy and demand for labor.
According to him, for 2.5 months unemployment in some countries has increased by 3-4 times — in Russia — almost 2 times, and in the United States — more than 30 million unemployed people are registered.
In addition, he expressed concern about the high level of poverty. As an example, he cited countries such as India and Bangladesh, where there are outbreaks of hunger.
According to the expert, the main factor of successful overcoming of the crisis is social dialogue, as well as solidarity of employees and employers.
Leonid Andreev, an international expert from Norway, noted the important role of trade unions in ensuring employment, protecting workers ‘ rights and developing the social protection system.
In his opinion, the promotion and support of ILO standards on minimum social security standards are important measures to mitigate the consequences of the crisis.
As a result of the presentations of foreign experts on the webinar’s online platform, a productive exchange of views took place on the issues of protecting workers ‘ health, developing social partnership and preserving jobs in the conditions of a catastrophic market decline.