On September 2, 2020, the regular XXVI Congress of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan was held, at which the results of the work of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan for five years were summarized and priority areas of work for the next five years were defined.
For the first time, 151 delegates representing all sectors of the Republic, as well as social partners, leaders of political parties, representatives of foreign trade union organizations and international organizations participated in the Congress, which was held for the first time online.
Speaking on behalf of the Head of State, Kasym Jomart Tokaev, to the delegates of the Congress, the First Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, Dauren Abayev, noted that the potential of trade unions today has enormous resources.
“We must cultivate respect for work, making it a basic value of Kazakhstan’s society. This is my principled position. We all understand that the presence of Executive bodies alone is not enough. Therefore, the mechanism of social partnership, the system of bilateral interaction between the state and citizens of the non-governmental sector has no alternatives. The Federation of trade unions is one of the most institutionally developed public associations in Kazakhstan. You rightfully occupy an important place in the General political life, the implementation of economic, social, spiritual and cultural programs,” the President D. Abayev said.
According to the First Deputy head of the Presidential Administration, since 2017, the Federation’s management system has been seriously reformed, its capabilities have been expanded, and the Council for the protection of social, economic, and labor rights and interests of citizens has been established.
“The Federation of trade unions should become the main initiator in resolving labor conflicts. Only by systematically implementing the rights of workers can the skepticism and distrust of social workers be overcome. It is very important for the Federation to improve its capacity to prevent labor disputes, especially in large enterprises. It is necessary to clearly delineate the functions of the bilateral Commission on social partnership and ensure constant monitoring of its implementation. This will allow forming a clear algorithm of interaction between the Federation and relevant ministries and akimats on joint work of mediation of employees. We need modern, accessible, informational communications between trade unions at all levels. In the information field, we feel the need to create constructive channels of interaction with the public,” the Head of state said in his greeting.
Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Yeraly Tugzhanov addressed the delegates on behalf of the Government of the country.
He noted the effectiveness of the communication system between labor collectives and employers at enterprises where trade unions operate.
“Trade unions of Kazakhstan are a good participant and partner of the Government in achieving the goal of social stability. We know that where this organization operates, there is an effective system of communication between labor collectives and employers. Issues related to increasing wages, improving working conditions and recreation are effectively resolved. During a difficult period in the country, the Federation of trade unions actively implements its main purpose-to protect the labor rights and interests of employees, provides material and consulting assistance to employees and socially vulnerable categories of the population,” the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan noted.
Minister of labor and social protection of Kazakhstan Birzhan Nurymbetov, in turn, stressed the key role of the Federation of trade unions in protecting the legal rights and interests of workers.
“The Federation of trade unions enjoys a high level of trust from both employees and society as a whole. Within the framework of social partnership, we have been actively working together in recent years to protect the interests and rights of employees. In order to improve working conditions and social protection of workers, with the active participation of Federation of trade unions carried out work on amending the Labour code and the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On trade unions”, — said the head of the Ministry of labor.
19 sectoral agreements, more than 200 regional agreements, as well as 136.5 thousand collective agreements have been signed and are in force to secure social guarantees for employees. This is a direct result of the active work of trade unions in Kazakhstan, ” Birzhan Nurymbetov said.
The Minister emphasized the joint work of social partners on the draft General agreement for 2021-2023, which, according to him, should clearly set out the principles of work of the Government, employers and employees.
“We must continue to work together to develop cooperation with international organizations, including the implementation of the recommendations of the International labor organization and international trade unions,” the Minister of labor and social protection of the population of Kazakhstan added.
Head of sector of Europe and Central Asia for workers ‘ activities International labour organization Sergius Glovackas, addressing a welcoming speech to the delegates, noted positive changes in the activities of the Federation of trade unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
The international expert highly appreciates the active measures taken by the Federation of trade unions of Kazakhstan to strengthen its position in the international trade Union movement, including initiatives to ratify ILO Conventions.
In his speech, the Chairman of the fprc Satybaldy Dauletalin reported on the achievements of the Federation of trade unions and the upcoming tasks of the trade Union community.
The head of the FPRC called on all trade Union organizations and every trade Union member to actively participate in the development of a new social model of life in our country.
“Today we responsibly declare that the Federation of trade unions will work to create and ensure civil consolidation, social and political stability in our society”
The delegates of satybalda Dauletalin paid special attention to the importance of developing social partnership.
“The Union needs negotiations that are effective for Union members. Trade unions need to actively develop their economic expertise and analysis. Here, our tactics should be as follows: to get a real right to negotiate wages; to insist on reducing income inequality – first of all, to “freeze” corporate bonuses for senior staff; to seek an increase in the minimum wage,” said the Chairman of the Federation of trade unions.
According to him, the tactical tasks for the upcoming period are to increase the minimum wage; legislate wage indexation; replace the basic official salaries of public sector employees with the minimum wage; and revise the consumer basket.
Ratification of the ILO conventions: 102 on minimum standards of social security, 131 on setting the minimum wage,and 154 on promoting collective bargaining is also a priority.
Today, trade unions are concerned about ensuring safe working conditions and preserving the health of employees.
The head of the fprc stressed the importance of an urgent transition from the compensation model to professional risk management and the formation of an Institute of professional appraisers who conduct job certification.
According to him, the Law “on trade unions”requires a significant update.
Delegates of the XXVI Congress adopted an appeal to workers, trade Union organizations and social partners to support the course of renewal outlined in the Address of the Head of state.
“At such a crucial moment for the country, the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan announced seven main directions of the new economic course, among which the principle of fair distribution of benefits and responsibilities of citizens is a priority.
It is symbolic that the main message of the XXVI Congress “in unity to justice and development” is in tune with the key thesis of the President of the country about achieving universal justice.
We, the delegates of the Congress, were particularly encouraged by the initiative of the Head of state to consolidate social support measures in a single document – the Social code.
Trade unions, together with social partners, have a task to get out of a difficult socio-economic situation with the least losses and maintain the confidence of every citizen of Kazakhstan in the future, ” the Message reads.
On behalf of young trade Union leaders, Tolendy Zulpikhar, a 23-year-old mathematics teacher from the Turkestan region, spoke at the next Congress of the fprc.He noted that his goal is to promote the ideology of the trade Union movement among the younger generation of Kazakhstanis.
“In his Address to the people of Kazakhstan, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev noted the importance of commitment to the work of young Kazakhstanis. Only by working can a person achieve a certain goal. The implementation of the Federation’s Strategy allows young employees to be sure that the common man will always find support from the trade Union. As a teacher, I am grateful to the trade unions for their active participation in the development of the law “on the status of a teacher”, — said the representative of the trade Union youth.
The Congress also considered the report of the General Council on the implementation of decisions of the XXIV and XXV (extraordinary) congresses of the fprc, the report of the audit Commission of the fprc for 2015-2019, as well as amendments to the Charter of the Federation of trade unions. Delegates of the Congress adopted resolutions on key areas of activity of the Federation of trade unions.
Participants of the main trade Union forum of the five-year period also discussed the vectors of development of the trade Union movement in the country in the context of economic recovery after the pandemic crisis, the transition to a new format of social dialogue aimed at strengthening social protection of workers and ensuring a decent standard of living for working people.
The final moment of the Congress was the adoption of the Strategy of trade unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2020-2025, which will determine the further path of modernization and reform of the trade Union movement and will become the basis for effective work to further ensure effective protection of labor and socio-economic rights and interests of employees.
Today, the participants of the Supreme body of the fprc-delegates of the Congress unanimously elected Satybaldy Dauletalin to the post of Chairman of the Federation of trade unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Press service of the Federation of trade unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan