The delegation of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, headed by the Chairman of the FPRK Satybaldy Dauletalin, is on a working visit to the city of Shymkent. The first object of the delegation’s visit was Water Resources – Marketing LLP.
The company has been successfully operating in the service market for 25 years within the framework of a public-private partnership and today it continuously provides the third metropolis and a number of settlements in the Sairam region with utility and drinking water. The company currently has 1,000 employees, including 927 union members.
Chairman of the FPRK Satybaldy Dauletalin visited the museum of LLP “Water Resources-Marketing”, where he left a memorable entry in the book of honored guests.
In the central dispatching service, representatives of the Federation of Trade Unions got acquainted with the work of advanced technologies used in wastewater treatment plants.
Having familiarized himself with the work of the enterprise, the Head of the Federation of Trade Unions highly appreciated the measures of social and economic support and the creation of favorable working conditions for employees.
Satybaldy Dauletalin especially noted the work of the social store of Water Resources-Marketing LLP, in which all employees of the enterprise have the opportunity to purchase essential goods at prices 20% below market prices.
According to Gulnur Suyundikova, chairman of the trade union committee of Water Resources Marketing LLP, with the support of Anarbek Orman, the general director of the enterprise, since 2016 the trade union of the organization has implemented the Food Supply project for workers. According to her, 553,234 tons of essential products were sold under the project at reduced prices, including fruits, vegetables, flour, rice, sugar, pasta, sunflower oil, etc. In 2023, 130 tons of food are provided for workers.
The fact that the company has created all the conditions for efficient and fruitful work, the participants of the meeting were convinced by visiting the dining room and the gym of the company.
According to Gulnur Suyundikova, the trade union organization provides employees with discounts on meals in the canteen, where a worker can have a full meal for only 350 tenge. So, food in the canteen of the enterprise on average costs an employee 7 thousand tenge per month. At the same time, hot tea in the dining room is provided free of charge at any time of the working day.
Along with this, at the expense of the trade union fund, a medical office and a gym are functioning.
Welcoming the initiatives of the trade union organization of the enterprise in the field of providing workers with affordable food, Satybaldy Dauletalin spoke about the pilot project “Trade union trade network”, launched by the Federation in the Karaganda region.
“The goal of the project is to directly supply food and essential goods from producers to consumers, bypassing the chains of intermediaries. The essence of the trade union project is “Fair price”. In the future, we plan to expand the coverage of the distribution network in other regions of Kazakhstan. It is gratifying that you also took care of the workers by lowering the prices of essential products. This is one of the important steps to maintain purchasing power in the face of widespread price increases,” said Satybaldy Dauletalin.
During the meeting, Zhanatbek Turdaliev, Deputy General Director of Water Resources-Marketing LLP, appealed to the Chairman of the FPRK for support in resolving the issue of low wages for employees of water supply organizations in the region.
“Since wages depend on tariffs for water supply and sanitation services, employees’ salaries are an order of magnitude lower than those of colleagues from other regions and lower than the average salary in Kazakhstan. The average salary in the city of Shymkent is 245 thousand tenge, the average salary of employees of the enterprise is 152 thousand tenge. We believe that the wages of employees of housing and communal services should not be lower than the average wage in the region. We increased the wages of workers by 10%, but this did not significantly affect the income of employees,” Zhanatbek Turdaliev shared.
Speaking about solving the problematic issues raised during the meeting, the chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions noted the importance of trade union solidarity and unity in promoting the labor rights and interests of workers.
Despite the fact that the issue of setting tariffs is within the competence of state bodies, the Head of the FPRK assured that the Federation of Trade Unions will make its contribution to resolving this issue.
Satybaldy Dauletalin noted that the issues of developing fair labor relations, including ensuring a decent level of wages, have long been on the agenda of the Federation and relevant proposals have been sent for consideration by social partners.
“The basis of decent work is, first of all, decent wages. Currently, the Federation of Trade Unions has succeeded in increasing the minimum wage from 42,500 to 70,000 tenge. The President of the country supported the long-standing trade union initiative to develop a methodology for determining the minimum wage. In addition, we insist that the minimum wage be in line with international standards and be no less than 50 percent of the average wage. With the current average wage of 365 thousand tenge, the minimum wage should be 180 thousand tenge,” the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan emphasized.
Continuing the topic of remuneration, Satybaldy Dauletalin said that only 10% of more than 150,000 collective agreements provide for norms on indexation of workers’ wages.
“Indexation of wages is not an increase in wages, as many employers believe, it is a recalculation of wages for the percentage of inflation. The indexation requirement should be the same for everyone and enshrined at the legislative level. At the same time, first of all, it is necessary to index the salary of employees with an income below 300 thousand tenge,” Satybaldy Dauletalin believes.
According to him, an equally important tool for protecting the rights of workers is the collective agreement, which, despite low wages, can provide additional social guarantees for workers.
The Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions paid special attention to the issues of industrial safety. Assessing positively the absence of injuries at the enterprise, he called on the staff to improve the culture of safe work.
“About 200 people die in production every year. Our analysis showed that 70% of accidents are the fault of the employer. Undoubtedly, trade unions should actively work in shaping the culture of work among workers, but the employer must create all conditions to ensure the safety of the employee,” said Satybaldy Dauletalin.
According to him, the time has come to change public consciousness and increase respect for workers.
“A working person is the main value of the state, contributing to prosperity and economic growth. We must respect and support the Labor Man. The role of trade unions in this matter should be paramount. The trade union is a reliable bridge between the employer and the employee,” said Satybaldy Dauletalin.
In turn, the chairman of the Trade Union Center in Shymkent, Bauyrzhan Alteev, added that trade unions are the only organization that deals with the protection of workers’ rights.
According to him, there are 7 local and 8 branch trade unions in Shymkent, which unite 313 primary trade union organizations.
“Many people think that the rights of workers are protected by the labor inspectorate. But the main task of the labor inspectorate is to control compliance with labor laws. Every year, trade unions raise a number of important problems of workers at all levels of social partnership,” said Bauyrzhan Alteev.
Employees of Water Resources-Marketing LLP thanked the leadership of the Federation of Trade Unions and expressed support for initiatives aimed at improving the socio-economic well-being of ordinary workers.
It should be noted that Water Resources-Marketing LLP is an exemplary enterprise in Kazakhstan and is considered one of the best not only in our country, but also in other states of the post-Soviet space. The trade union organization at the enterprise has been operating since its inception, and from the first day of its work, it takes appropriate measures to provide employees with working conditions, social support for employees, large families, industry veterans and youth.
Media Center of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan