SOCIAL DIALOGUE IN THE INTERESTS OF OIL WORKERS OF KYZYLORDA

The expansion of social dialogue and collective negotiations on the implementation of agreements, collective agreements, ensuring public control over the implementation of labor legislation in the interests of employees of the oil and gas complex, ordinary members of the trade union are the most important components in the activities of KAZMUNAYGAZROF member organizations.

In Almaty, at the office of the Almaty branch of PetroKazakhstan Overseas Services Inc. on March 24 of this year, Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the Kazakhstan Branch Trade Union of the Oil and Gas Complex (hereinafter – KAZMUNAYGAZPROF) Sultan Kaliyev took part in the meeting of the President of PetroKazakhstan Inc, President of PetroKazakhstan Kumkol Resources Joint Stock Company Mr. Yang Minyu with the chairman of the local trade union Bakhytzhan Mukasheva and representatives of the labor collective, operators of PetroKazakhstan Kumkol Resources JSC: Alibek Abbasov (Mr. Aryskum), Manas Agilsky and Gali Mahatayev (m/r Kumkol), Aitmaganbet Zhanabayev (m/r Kyzylkia), Zhandos Tashkent (m/r Karabulak), as well as employees of the enterprise in the video conferencing mode (VKS), located in the office of the enterprise in Kyzylorda.

The main requirement of the employees of PetroKazakhstan Kumkol Resources is to increase the wages of operators by 50 percent, the number of which is 40% of the company’s staff (650 people). For the first time in recent years, representatives of the trade union and the labor collective had the opportunity to hold a meeting in this format – with the participation of the first head (president) of a joint Kazakh-Chinese enterprise.

During the meeting, there was a presentation on the Salary Program for 2022 and a heated discussion of issues regarding wage increases and the possibility of fulfilling employee requirements. The leader of the trade union Bakhytzhan Mukasheva, as well as all the oil workers present at the meeting, actively participated in the discussion of the main issue (salary increase by 50%), asked questions and discussed topical issues of production development and improvement of working conditions of workers.

The president of the company Yang Minyu and the director of human Resources of the Kazakhstan divisions of PetroKazakhstan Elmira Kusainova informed about the measures taken to increase the salaries of operators and specialists of the enterprise, gave explanations and their answers to the questions received. In her presentation, Elmira Kusainova noted, “that the Salary Program (PPP–2022) for 2022 fully complies with the shareholders’ decision and the agreement between CNPC and KMG to increase the wages of employees by 30% and will be effective from April 01, 2022. To calculate the increases, official salaries/tariff rates effective as of March 31, 2022 will be used, while those salaries that will be below the revised minimum points of the structure will be brought to the level of the new salary structure.”

In his speech, Chairman of KAZMUNAYGAZPROF Sultan Kaliyev noted, “That such high social tension in the team is primarily due to the lack of proper dialogue and interaction of the company’s management with the trade union, with members of the labor collective. As a result, the labor collective and operators do not have the necessary information about the measures taken by the employer to increase wages, improve safety and labor protection conditions, and prospects for further activities of the joint venture. We advocate systematic work on the interaction of the employer with employees on all issues of social and labor relations, for regular meetings of senior management and heads of production structures with the workforce. We hope that today’s meeting will be the beginning of the expansion of social dialogue and the development of collective bargaining in the leading oil company in the region.”

As a result of the meeting, a protocol decision was made to hold a meeting of the company’s President, Mr. Yang Minyu, with the workforce in the near future, with a visit to the Kyzylorda region, where the company’s management undertook to provide all necessary information about the measures taken to increase wages and relevant explanations to the company’s employees.

The meeting was attended and addressed by: Zhang Pingzhan, Head of the Almaty branch of PetroKazakhstan; Elmira Kusainova, Director of Human Resources of Kazakhstan Divisions of PetroKazakhstan; Maria Devine, Director of Compensation and Benefits of PetroKazakhstan; Tahir Nizam, Director of the Department of Economics, Planning and Budget of PetroKazakhstanPetroKazakhstan”; as well as Bayymbetov Marat Serikbayevich, Deputy chairman of the Kyzylorda Regional Industrial Center (in the VKS mode).