On August 4, the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan Satybaldy Dauletalin arrived on a working visit to the Mangistau region.
During the working trip, the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions met with members of the Coordinating Council and chairmen of the primary trade union organizations of JSC Karazhanbasmunai, LLP Oil Transport Corporation, JSC Ozenmunaigas, LLP Oil Services Company, Buzachi Operating Ltd, LLP Ozenmunaiservice ”, JSC “MAEK”, JSC “Mangystaumunaigas”, “Zhetibaimunaigas”, “Kalamkasmunaigas”, JSC “Karazhanbasmunai”, JSC “Ozenmunaigaz”, LLP “Kezbi”, LLP “AQIQAT”, LLP “Zhondeu”, LLP “TrubRemCentre”, MAEK-Kazatomonerkәsіp LLP, JV CASPIBITUM LLP, Caspian Zhylu, Su Arnasy, Ozenpromgeofizika JSC, KazTransOil JSC, Munaitelekom LLP ZhSS and MangystauEnergoMunay LLP.
Satybaldy Dauletalin got acquainted with the current situation and the results of the work of trade union organizations in the region in the field of protecting the rights and interests of workers and announced specific tasks for further improving the social and labor sphere.
The participants of the meeting paid special attention to the issues of preventing labor conflicts and maintaining social stability in teams.
Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan Satybaldy Dauletalin gave a positive assessment of the work of trade union organizations in the region, including prompt response to any collective appeals of workers, regardless of the presence of trade union membership in a particular enterprise.
Noting the special role of trade unions in resolving collective disputes, the Chairman of the Federation emphasized that out of 272 collective labor disputes that have occurred over the past 2.5 years, 63% were resolved through negotiations.
“Member organizations of the Federation of Trade Unions took part in resolving 96% of disputes, despite the fact that 57% of all these enterprises are not covered by trade union membership. It should be noted that at enterprises where there are no trade unions, the employer does not try to independently solve the problems of workers, and the lack of mutual understanding between the parties leads to an aggravation of social tension,” Satybaldy Dauletalin said.
Speaking about the causes of labor disputes, the Chairman of the FPRK touched upon the problem of low wages and recalled the initiatives of the Federation to increase the minimum wage and introduce the methodology for calculating the minimum wage, which were supported by the country’s leadership.
According to him, the specific position of the trade unions is that the wage system should be formed in agreement with the trade union.
“It is difficult to say that the issue of wages today is fair. In accordance with the Labor Code, the employer independently regulates the system of remuneration. The Federation of Trade Unions came up with a proposal to oblige the employer to consult with the representative of the employee on the formation of a wage system,” Satybaldy Dauletalin emphasized. According to him, the condition for mandatory wage indexation also requires legislative consolidation. “Only in 10% of more than 150 thousand operating The country of collective agreements provides for provisions for annual indexation of wages. It is rather difficult to resolve these issues within the framework of collective bargaining, therefore we are in favor of resolving this issue at the legislative level,” the Chairman of the FPRK believes. In the light of ensuring social justice, the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan calls on social partners to eliminate a significant gap in wages between the employer and the employee, as well as to 100% pay for temporary disability sheets. Along with this, Satybaldy Dauletalin drew attention to the differences in wages between the regions of the country. “If you look at the average wage, then in 2022 the leader among the regions was the Atyrau region (523.2 thousand tenge), and the last place was the North Kazakhstan region (227 thousand tenge). Mangistau region ranks second in terms of average wages (460 thousand tenge), and its level is 1.5 times higher than in the republic,” said the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions.
Continuing the topic of protecting the interests of workers, Satybaldy Dauletalin dwelled on the issues of occupational safety. In the Year of Safe Labor, declared by the General Council, the Federation of Trade Unions and its affiliates carry out a number of activities aimed at reducing occupational injuries. At the same time, the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions considers it necessary to adopt the National Decent Work Program, which provides for the obligation of the employer to allocate funds for the modernization of production.
At the end, Satybaldy Dauletalin told the participants of the meeting about important events in the field of international cooperation. “On July 29, in the city of Shusha of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the National Trade Union Centers of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan signed an Agreement on the establishment of the Organization of Trade Unions of Turkic Countries. The initiative to create this integration structure was put forward by the Kazakh side and discussed for several years. Cooperation within the framework of the new organization will give a new impetus to the development of social and labor relations between our countries,” emphasized the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions. Another important step towards strengthening the authority of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the international arena was the restoration of membership in the International Confederation of Trade Unions.
“The Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, being a full member of the international trade union movement, will continue to actively develop cooperation with foreign countries and increase its potential in protecting the rights of workers,” Satybaldy Dauletalin assured.
He also noted that for the successful implementation of the tasks set, it is necessary to further strengthen the unity and solidarity of the trade union community, following the key ideas of the Strategy of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2020-2025.
The meeting participants expressed support for the initiatives of the Federation of Trade Unions, noting their timeliness and special significance in solving the pressing problems of ordinary workers.
Regarding trade union activities in the Mangistau region, the trade union leaders of the region noted the importance of solving issues of raising the status of works councils, improving the attitude of the employer to the employee, organizing trade union training and other measures.
Summing up the proposals of the participants, the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions Satybaldy Dauletalin specified that many issues have already been taken into account and are in the process of discussion with the governing bodies of the FPRK and social partners.
Media Center of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan