The Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Kazakhstan, Satybaldy Dauletalin, on a working visit to Zhetysu province, visited Tekeli, where he familiarised himself with the activities of Tekeli Energy Complex LLP and discussed health and safety issues with employees.
The main activity of the LLP is the combined generation of heat and electricity, transmission, distribution and supply of heat energy. The company supplies Tekeli city with heat energy and generates electricity for the needs of the city and Zhetysu region. As of today, the installed and available electrical capacity is 24 MW, while the thermal capacity is 42 Gcal.
Tekeli Energy Complex employs 232 people and the average salary is 227,000 tenge.
The company, commissioned in 1959, like many companies in the energy sector, is experiencing problems due to the current heat tariff policy. Low tariffs make it impossible to carry out a full-scale modernisation of production facilities and to raise salaries for employees. Particularly acute at Tekeli Energy Complex is the issue of ensuring safe working conditions. In 2022 and early 2023 two workers here were seriously injured in industrial accidents.
According to Stanislav Dolgolev, chairman of the trade union committee of the energy complex, due to financial difficulties the company does not have the capacity to train qualified technical inspectors in occupational safety.
“We have a works council, but unfortunately there are no funds to train technical inspectors,” complained the enterprise’s trade union leader.
FTURK Chairman Satybaldy Dauletalin instructed the head of the regional trade union association, Zhetysu Aset Kydyrmanov, who accompanied him, to assist the enterprise in training technical inspectors in labour protection.
“The working man and his health is a core value for trade unions. This year, the Federation of Trade Unions and its affiliates are celebrating the Year of Safe Work. Therefore, the issue of ensuring safe working conditions should not be delayed. I instruct the regional trade union centre, together with the branch trade union, to organise training of employees and train qualified technical inspectors for the power complex as soon as possible”, said the FTURK head.
The Profocentre chairman assured that in the near future, on-the-job training courses would be organised for candidates for technical inspectors.
Regarding the problem of raising the salaries of energy sector employees, the FTURK head noted that the issue is a priority in cooperation with the social partners at the national level.
“The Federation of Trade Unions has repeatedly raised the issue of increasing the salaries of energy workers with the social partners in the government of the country. A positive solution to the issue of adjusting the tariff policy and joint measures on the part of the social partners should influence the wage issue in favour of energy workers in Kazakhstan. The meeting with employees of the Tekeli energy complex is another reason for us to remind them of the priority of wage increases for energy and heating employees,” assured Satybaldy Dauletalin.
The discussion continued with preparations for the forthcoming heating season. The past winter period in several regions of the country almost resulted in the collapse of life in entire cities. Therefore, Satybaldy Dauletalin was interested in the issue of readiness of the energy complex to provide heat and light to the residents of Tekeli.
“We managed to modernize the main networks, today their wear and tear is only 3 per cent. The depreciation of the intra-block networks is about 52 per cent. The district heating companies are reducing this figure on a weekly basis. We hope not to repeat the history of Ekibastuz and Ridder,” Stanislav Dolgolev said goodbye.
Meanwhile, according to the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan as of May this year, the depreciation of generating capacities of power generating organizations in Kazakhstan is about 58%, with a number of CHPPs having a depreciation rate approaching 90%. The marginal electricity tariffs were amended by Order of the Minister of Energy of May 26, 2023. The increase in the amount of tariffs is related to the fuel costs of power generating companies and preparations for the upcoming autumn-winter period.