A delegation of the Mission of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) headed by Deputy Secretary General of the IPC Owen Tudor has arrived in Kazakhstan. Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan Satybaldy Dauletalin met with the members of the Mission today.
As part of the Mission: President of the Pan-European Regional Council (PERC) ITUC Irakli Petriashvili, Executive Secretary of the PERC ITUC Anton Leppik, CIS Coordinator of the PERC ITUC Anna Salnikova, Deputy Chairman of the Confederation of Trade Unions of Azerbaijan Agil Dadashev, representative of the Confederation of Labor of Russia (CLR) Boris Kravchenko, representatives of the Solidarity Center/American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (ACILS/AFL-CIO) Tatiana Solodovnik and Michael Fedynsky, representative of the General Confederation of Labor of France Renata Tretyakova, representative of the German Confederation of Trade Unions Frank Hoffer, as well as a member of the Women’s Committee of the ITUC, representative of the Confederation of Trade Unions HAK-IS of the Republic of Turkey Merita Yildiz.
Welcoming the representative delegation of the International Trade Union Confederation, the Chairman of the FPRC Satybaldy Dauletalin noted that the Federation of Trade Unions has done a lot of work on the recommendations of the ITUC in terms of ensuring internal democracy, restoring independence and eliminating comments on the implementation of the ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association.
“In order to implement the recommendations of the ILO, amendments and additions were made to the Law “On Trade Unions” in May 2020, which took into account the proposals developed and made by trade unions concerning international cooperation and financing, simplification of conditions for confirming the status of trade unions as republican, sectoral, regional associations during their state registration. Currently, the Federation of Trade Unions is additionally initiating further improvement of this norm – namely, the transition to a notification form of registration of trade unions,” the Chairman of the FTURK said.
The Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan continues to work on the recommendations of the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the ITUC. In the period from 4 to 12 May this year, the Federation of Trade Unions organized the work of the ILO Direct Contact Mission in Kazakhstan. In addition to meetings with trade unions, the Mission organized meetings with the Government, State agencies, the Commissioner for Human Rights, employers’ associations, international and human rights organizations.
In June of this year, a delegation of the Federation took part in the 110th session of the ILO.
This year, a seminar was also held jointly with the ILO for trade unions of Kazakhstan on the application of international standards and their implementation, conclusions on Kazakhstan were discussed, further steps were worked out.
The Federation of Trade Unions also took an active part in the development of an Action Plan to implement the recommendations of the Committee on the Application of ILO Standards (approved by the Minister of Labor on July 11, 2022).
In early October, the Federation of Trade Unions together with the ILO will hold a regular Conference on platform employment in Almaty, with the participation of national trade union centers of seven countries.
It was noted that the Federation of Trade Unions has always advocated and stands for solidarity in the actions of trade unions, and also supports the solidarity campaigns of the ITUC. For example, on March 16, 2022, the Federation of Trade Unions, being part of the international trade union movement, held an action “Trade Unions for Peace and Stability” in support of the action of the ITUC in Ukraine. The trade unions of Kazakhstan are concerned about the current situation in the world and the deterioration of the situation of workers. The FTURK stands for peace and friendship between peoples and we are watching the current situation with concern.
Answering the questions of foreign colleagues about the intra-union activities of the Federation, the Chairman of the FTURK stressed that the main activity is the promotion of the principles of social justice, and consistent work to protect the rights and interests of employees.
“By the decision of the General Council, we have declared 2022 the Year of Social Partnership. Our main goal is, together with social partners, to implement a number of measures to improve labor legislation, improve the social and labor rights of employees, increase wages and create decent working conditions for ordinary trade union members. In order to reduce social tension and prevent labor disputes, the Federation of Trade Unions launched the action “Labor Consultations”. With the active participation of the Federation of Trade Unions, an important document was approved by the decision of the Republican Tripartite Commission on Social Partnership – a new Concept of safe Work. At the meetings of the Republican Trilateral Commission, we are actively promoting issues of improving the wage system, wage indexation, developing criteria for setting the minimum wage, methods for determining increasing sectoral and inter–category coefficients, increasing the amount of social benefits for temporary disability, ratification of ILO Conventions №173 and 131,” the Chairman of the FTURK said.
Satybaldy Dauletalin also stressed that at the initiative of the FTURK, three republican unions of trade unions worked together for the first time on a draft General Agreement for 2021-2023.
“Today we are faced with the task of modernizing the trade union movement, ensuring the unity of actions of the country’s trade unions, further strengthening the role of trade unions as an organization for collective protection of workers’ interests, developing new approaches in the fight for the preservation of jobs and decent wages,” the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Kazakhstan said.
Currently, the Federation of Trade Unions, together with social partners, is actively working to further improve the legislation.
“In addition to the introduction of the notification procedure for the registration of trade unions, we have additionally made proposals to significantly simplify the procedure for the nomination of workers’ demands and the procedure for declaring strikes. A number of proposals have also been made to strengthen the institution of conciliation commissions and labor arbitration, the role of trade unions in resolving labor disputes. This bill has already been submitted to the country’s Parliament for consideration. On our initiative, a draft of a new law “On Social Partnership” is also being prepared and work continues on the ratification of international conventions. Our initiatives to increase the minimum wage and to develop a methodology for the formation of the minimum wage have found the support of the President of the country and are indicated in the Message to the people of Kazakhstan,” the Chairman of the FTURK said.
At the end of the meeting, Satybaldy Dauletalin noted that the Federation of Trade Unions intends to strengthen cooperation with the International Trade Union Confederation in all areas of trade union work.
During the visit of the ITUC Mission to Kazakhstan, meetings are also planned with the Commissioner for Human Rights Elvira Azimova, with representatives of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan, with deputies of the Majilis of the Parliament of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as with leaders of republican, sectoral and territorial unions of trade unions.
Media Center of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan