Today, all spheres of human activity, including labor relations, are under the influence of global challenges of our time: from natural disasters and climate change to technological transformations and geopolitical crises. And this requires new views on what is happening.
The participants of the Social Partners Forum “New Social Contract: Fair Labor Relations”, held in Astana on January 27, 2023, summing up their work, note the main conclusion – society needs new concepts for building relationships between employees, employers and the state, as well as an optimal revision of the principles of fair income distribution.
Emphasizing the relevance of the ideas of the New Social Contract, which were confirmed in the speeches made, after discussing the results of the past Year of social partnership and prospects for further joint work, the Forum participants declare the following:
- It is necessary to improve the quality of the work of social partnership bodies at all levels. We express a common opinion on the inadmissibility of declarative and meaningless agreements and collective agreements concluded, passivity and inertia of participants in the social partnership system.
- Noting the work carried out on the analysis of the causes and settlement of emerging collective labor disputes and taking into account the proposals received, the parties to the social partnership will provide active support in:
- wide distribution of the “Labor Consultations” campaign among enterprises and organizations of the country;
- creation of production councils, as well as improvement of the quality of work and measures to encourage technical inspectors on labor protection;
- prevention of evasion from consideration of collective and individual claims of employees, ignoring the requests of employees, avoiding participation in negotiation processes, detachment, rudeness and indifference in the process of settlement of labor disputes.
- We express our full support for the proposals of the Forum participants on:
- acceleration of the development and approval of the methodology for determining the minimum wage;
- development of methods for determining increasing industry coefficients for workers engaged in heavy work, in harmful and dangerous working conditions;
- securing the right of employees to suspend work in cases of delayed payment of wages;
- development of effective methods and financial mechanisms to encourage employers to improve the level of labor safety on the basis of timely replacement of production facilities with safer ones, introduction of modern technological processes, training of personnel in safe working methods;
- strengthening the responsibility of the employer for refusing to create a conciliation commission or labor arbitration, negotiating to consider the claims of employees.
Noting the timeliness, consistency and perseverance of the actions carried out by the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Forum participants express their readiness for further joint work to improve the lives of citizens of the country, ensure stability in labor collectives, strengthen the importance of the Labor Man.
We fully share the well-founded concern about the current unsatisfactory situation of occupational safety and health. Along with the requirements to employers about the need to modernize production facilities and carry out preventive measures, we call on the Year of Safe Work to focus common efforts in this area at all levels of social partnership.
In the speeches made at the Forum, proposals were voiced that reveal the vision of a new concept of labor relations. We believe that the development of industrial democracy should be considered as a continuation of the processes of democratization of society as a whole. This fully corresponds to the position of the Head of State on the urgent need to transform the relationship between the state and society by introducing a new format of the social contract.
We express a consolidated opinion that the joint work of social partners on the issues voiced at the Forum will accelerate the processes of economic reform, ease social tension and confrontation in society, creating a solid foundation for improving the welfare of the population.
The Forum once again confirmed the relevance and inviolability of the historical motto of trade unions “In unity – strength!”.
Accepted by the participants
Forum of Social Partners
“New Social Contract:
Fair labor relations”