The X Kazakhstan International Conference KIOSH-2022 on Labor Protection and Industrial Safety, organized by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan jointly with the Kazakhstan Exhibition Company Iteca, has started its work in Nur-Sultan.
The conference is attended by representatives of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the country’s largest employers, domestic and foreign experts in the field of labor protection.
In his welcoming speech, Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Yeraly Tugzhanov stressed that the role of labor protection, social protection measures and the importance of social policy is constantly growing.
“The Government, on behalf of the Head of State, last year approved an Action Plan to ensure safe work until 2025. This year, the Republican Tripartite Commission on Social Partnership and Regulation of Social and Labor Relations approved the Concept of Safe Work in the Republic of Kazakhstan until 2030. Thus, the priority of safe work, improvement of working conditions and preservation of labor resources has been proclaimed at the state level and the main directions of activity at all levels of management have been identified,” the Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan said.
Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan Satybaldy Dauletalin – one of the main speakers of the strategic session on the topic “Labor protection in the era of transformation: global solutions to ensure social well-being”, cited the results of the analysis conducted by the Federation on the situation with occupational injuries in the country. According to him, every year in Kazakhstan, the number of workers injured in production reaches 1,500 people, 200 people die.
“According to our data, 60% of the equipment of manufacturing enterprises is outdated and worn out. It is impossible to talk about safety and labor protection in the 21st century using the equipment of the last century. According to the analysis of cause-and-effect relationships, industrial injuries are a consequence of unsatisfactory working conditions and hygienic standards. Ensuring these requirements is the employer’s obligation. If the employer, in accordance with the requirements of the legislation, will fully assess the occupational risk and take measures to minimize and eliminate it, then accidents at work can be avoided. According to our statistics, in 70% of fatal accidents, the fault of the employer is revealed. Also, according to the analysis of the Federation of Trade Unions, occupational injuries occur more often at those enterprises where there are no trade union organizations,” said Satybaldy Dauletalin.
In this regard, the Chairman of the FTURK expressed a number of initiatives. According to him, guided by world practice, the Federation of Trade Unions, within the framework of working groups on amendments to labor legislation, initiated the exclusion of establishing the degree of guilt of the parties in the investigation of an accident. According to Satybalda Dauletalin, now it is important not to look for the culprits, but to switch to identifying the causes of occupational injuries, and eliminate shortcomings together with social partners.
“Following the principles of social partnership, trade unions focus on strengthening public control within the framework of production councils and the work of technical inspectors. In this regard, the Federation has submitted a proposal to the working group for consideration on the legislative consolidation of the powers of technical inspectors, as well as strengthening state control within the framework of state labor inspections,” the Chairman of the FTURK said.
According to statistics, the country’s enterprises employ about 16 thousand production units, 12 thousand of which were created with the participation of trade unions. Addressing employers, Satybaldy Dauletalin stressed the need to create production councils at all enterprises of the country.
“Social dialogue is the most important tool for promoting the mutual interests of the state, the employer and employees. It is easier and more effective to solve all acute issues through the negotiation process within the framework of our social partnership,” concluded the Chairman of the FTURK.
The next speaker of the strategic session, Project Manager of the EU-ILO (International Labour Organization) Antonio Santos expressed support for the initiatives of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan and noted the importance of ratification of ILO conventions in Kazakhstan.
Summarizing the work of the strategic session of the conference, the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan Tamara Duissenova said that she supports the initiatives of the FTURK and, within the framework of joint work with social partners, work on improving national standards for safety and labor protection will continue.
Media Center of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan