During a working trip to Zhambyl region, Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan Satybaldy Dauletalin met with members of the recently established primary trade union organization of the heat supply enterprise “Zhambyl-Zhylu”.
According to the director of the State Enterprise “Zhambyl-Zhylu” Muslim Kassymov, the company, established in 2003, carries out activities in the field of heat supply of housing and communal services and social and cultural facilities. There are 75 boiler houses on the balance sheet of the State Enterprise “Zhambyl-zhylu”. The company serves 174 multi-storey buildings (8301 subscribers), 115 budget organizations, including schools and hospitals.
“Today our company has all the necessary potential and material and technical base. We are ready to expand the volume of heat supply. Obtaining additional volume would allow us to open new jobs,” the director said.
In 2021, the volume of heat generated increased by an average of 11% compared to 2019.
As for remuneration, Muslim Kassymov said that in 2021, the wages of employees have been increased from 96 thousand to 134 thousand tenge, and this year it is planned to increase by another 10%.
According to the chairman of the primary trade union organization Sagynbek Nurgaliyev, the primary trade union organization at the enterprise was established on March 25 of this year and work is currently underway to increase trade union membership. To date, 50 people out of 675 employees of the company have become its members. The trade union organization already provides assistance to 22 low–income families of workers – provides food and coal in winter.
The company’s employees actively joined the dialogue, asked questions and shared their suggestions.
First of all, the team expressed gratitude to the leadership of the Federation of Trade Unions for the attention paid to the pressing problems of ordinary workers. The participants of the meeting also thanked the chairman of the Trade Union Center of Zhambyl region Baglan Karashulakov for assistance and legal assistance in the creation of the primary trade union organization.
Among the most urgent issues were the extension of vacations, reduction of the retirement age for boiler workers.
“Currently, the employees’ vacation is 24 days. Can it be extended to 30 days, taking into account the specifics of our work?”, asked Saken Asanbekov, a veteran of the company with 40 years of experience.
Answering questions, Adviser to the Chairman of the FTURK Birzhan Nurymbetov assured that the Federation of Trade Unions systematically raises the issue of lowering the retirement age to the Government of the country.
“Our pension depends on the level of wages and savings. Therefore, trade unions insist on increasing the level of wages in Kazakhstan. We are currently discussing this issue with our social partners at the republican level,” Birzhan Nurymbetov said.
As for vacations, he proposed to settle this issue in a collective agreement.
“The Labor Code stipulates that leave cannot be less than 24 days. This is the employer’s responsibility. And if you want to increase it, you can add this condition to the collective agreement in agreement with the employer,” the Adviser to the Chairman of the FTURK stressed.
As noted by the social partners of Zhambyl-Zhylu, the collective agreement is currently under discussion.
Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan Satybaldy Dauletalin, after hearing the voiced problems, noted that the will of workers to unite in a trade union is an important step in promoting the rights and interests of workers.
He urged employees to join a trade union and contribute to the regulation of labor relations at the enterprise – to work together to find solutions to problematic issues.
The head of the FTURK also outlined the clear position of trade unions in the field of social partnership and emphasized the need to adopt a collective agreement of the enterprise filled with a high-quality package of social and labor guarantees for employees.
“A trade union is not an enemy of the employer and not an organization that works against the employer. In fact, the trade union, together with the employer, must regulate labor relations and make efforts for the development of the enterprise, including through a collective agreement. If we work together to solve problems and raise the company, the company’s work will improve, revenues will increase, this, in turn, will affect the social well-being of employees. This is a matter of social justice. Where there is a trade union, there is also a desire for justice,” Satybaldy Dauletalin said.
To the members of the new primary trade union organization, the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions outlined a number of priority tasks to protect the interests of workers.
He called for paying special attention to labor protection issues.
“The annual death at work of about 200 people is of deep concern to the Federation of Trade Unions. This is a great tragedy. Our analysis showed that 70% of fatal accidents occurred in organizations where there are no trade unions. In addition, 65% of accidents are caused by employers,” said the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions.
Among the most important issues, the Head of the FTURK noted the remuneration of labor. The head of the FTURK spoke about the initiatives of the Federation of Trade Unions to improve labor legislation aimed at improving the social well-being of employees. We are talking about the formation of a fair wage system, the legislative indexation of wages, the involvement of workers in production management, labor consultations, etc.
As stressed by Satybaldy Dauletalin, of the 79 labor disputes that arose last year, 90% are related to workers’ dissatisfaction with low wages.
Meanwhile, he noted the importance of resolving these issues through negotiations within the framework of social partnership and called for its development in a constructive manner.
“A working person is the main value of the state, contributing to prosperity and economic growth. We must respect and support the Man of Work. The role of trade unions in this issue should be paramount. A trade union is a reliable bridge between an employer and an employee,” said Satybaldy Dauletalin.
Media Center of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan