A meeting of the Republican Tripartite Commission on Social Partnership and Regulation of Social and Labor Relations took place in Astana, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan Tamara Duisenova, with the participation of Commission members from the Federation of Trade Unions.
During the meeting, social partners discussed pressing issues in Kazakhstan’s social and labor sphere. Key topics included preventing social tensions and resolving labor disputes. A significant step in further developing social dialogue was the approval of the Action Plan for implementing the General Agreement for 2024-2026.
FPRK Chairman Satybaldy Dauletalin presented the union’s analysis of the current situation. He first noted a decrease in labor disputes in the country compared to the previous year.
According to monitoring data from the Federation of Trade Unions, of the 66 conflicts identified since the beginning of the year, 21 were recorded at enterprises with FPRK trade union organizations. The remaining 24 conflicts occurred at enterprises without union representation. As reported by the Federation’s head, 72.7% of conflicts (48 cases) were resolved through negotiations, though 18 disputes resulted in strikes.
“The main causes of conflicts include wage-related issues—low salaries, wage discrimination between domestic and foreign workers, wage disparities within industries, lack of wage indexation—and deteriorating working conditions. Most conflicts were triggered by enterprise administrations refusing to negotiate on problematic issues,” noted Satybaldy Dauletalin.
He emphasized that most disputes occur at privately-owned enterprises and those with foreign participation.
In his speech, the FPRK Chairman proposed several measures to prevent and resolve labor disputes.
Specifically, he recommended organizing joint training for employers and employees on social-labor conflict resolution and negotiation techniques.
“Last year, the General Council of the Federation of Trade Unions adopted the Trade Union Training Concept, which significantly enhanced the Federation’s and its member organizations’ efforts to train union activists. Considering the different levels of trade union education, initiatives such as ‘Legal Education for All,’ ‘Trade Union Task Force,’ ‘Educational Marathon,’ and ‘Trade Union Leader School’ continued to be implemented. In 2024, the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan, in cooperation with its member organizations, conducted 590 training seminars nationwide, covering 32,492 people. Both employers and employees, regardless of trade union membership, including representatives from the Mangystau region, participated in these educational projects. Alongside these initiatives, modular seminars were held for members of conciliation and audit commissions as well as technical inspectors,” said the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions (FPRK).
Satybaldy Dauletalin placed special emphasis on legal education, suggesting the introduction of labor law fundamentals into educational institutions’ curricula.
Additionally, the Head of the FPRK stressed the importance of promoting the idea of conducting the ‘Labor Consultations’ campaign in organizations and enterprises under the coordination of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan (MLSP).
He also highlighted the necessity of legally ensuring annual wage indexation at a level not lower than the inflation rate.
According to him, strengthening the work of sectoral commissions on social partnership and the regulation of social and labor relations is crucial.
Wage arrears and ensuring employees’ social guarantees remain pressing issues for trade unions.
“The issue of wage payments is a matter of our citizens’ social well-being. The market cannot be considered civilized when workers go unpaid for months while businesses generate substantial profits. Despite some positive progress in debt repayment, the problem of delayed wages remains relevant in our country, particularly in the small business sector,” the FPRK Chairman noted.
The Head of the FPRK urged all social partnership parties to comply with current legislation and recognize their social responsibilities.
“Further progress requires strengthening joint efforts by all parties involved in social partnership,” he emphasized.
Social partners also reviewed the draft Roadmap for preventing social tensions and resolving social and labor conflicts.
Deputy Prime Minister Tamara Duissenova acknowledged the importance of the proposed measures, stressing the need to strengthen cooperation among social partners to maintain social stability.
Tamara Duissenova urged all parties involved in social partnership to enhance information and awareness campaigns, using the Federation’s trade union training initiatives as an example, including at enterprises without trade union organizations.
Additionally, she noted the insufficient efforts by social partnership parties in reducing wage arrears, ensuring social contributions, and signing collective agreements.
During the meeting, key aspects of occupational safety and health at «Qarmet» JSC were discussed.
Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan (FPRK), Satybaldy Dauletalin, presented data provided by the coal miners’ union “Qorgau,” emphasizing positive progress in the company’s operations.
“Over the first 11 months of 2024, the total number of occupational injuries at the Coal Department of Qarmet JSC amounted to 20 cases, including 1 fatality, 17 severe injuries, and 2 minor ones. This marks a significant decrease compared to 111 cases during the same period in 2023,” stated the FPRK Chairman.
However, he stressed the need to strengthen efforts to monitor and ensure occupational safety, including increasing the number of workplace councils in the real sector.
Regarding miners’ safety measures, Satybaldy Dauletalin called on social partners to actively collaborate and proposed several initiatives aimed at ensuring safe working conditions and preventing workplace accidents at Qarmet JSC.
First and foremost, the FPRK Chairman highlighted the importance of equipping mines with positioning systems.
“Currently, positioning systems are installed at the «Kazakhstan» and «Kuzembayeva» mines. Trade unions advocate for such systems to be installed in all mines, as they play a crucial role in ensuring miners’ safety,” said Satybaldy Dauletalin.
He also emphasized the need to train technical inspectors. According to the FPRK, the Coal Department of «Qarmet» JSC currently has a workplace council, which held two meetings on occupational safety over the first 11 months of 2024. Twenty-nine approved technical inspectors conducted 47 inspections, identifying and eliminating 1,452 safety violations.
It was also proposed to increase the frequency of workplace council meetings and expand its authority in overseeing workplace safety.
The FPRK Chairman stressed the importance of conducting a thorough inspection of occupational safety compliance at «Qarmet» JSC’s enterprises by relevant government authorities.
During the meeting, the Action Plan for implementing the General Agreement between the Government, employers, and trade unions for 2024-2026 was approved. The plan covers a wide range of issues, including improving social partnership, socio-economic policy, the labor market, working conditions, occupational safety, resolving social and labor disputes, and legislative work.
The Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions emphasized the importance of fulfilling commitments by all social partners to achieve the goals of the General Agreement, including improving workers’ quality of life and promoting the principles of Decent Work. He noted that the Plan incorporates many proposals from the Federation of Trade Unions aimed at preventing labor disputes and improving working conditions in Kazakhstan.
As a result of the meeting, social partners agreed that meetings of the Republican Tripartite Commission will be held quarterly, including the possibility of holding off-site sessions.
Additionally, the parties decided to introduce the practice of involving RTC representatives in meetings of sectoral and regional commissions, where employers’ reports on social and labor relations issues will be reviewed.
Media Center of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan