An integral part of the activities of the Federation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter the Federation) is cooperation with international organizations and foreign trade unions. This activity is carried out on the basis of the adopted Strategy of the Federation for 2020-2025 “In unity to justice and development”, which defines the directions in the field of international cooperation.
The international trade union movement is developing rapidly against the background of other international organizations. According to the International Trade Union Confederation, more than 207 million workers worldwide are members of trade unions, with an expected increase to 250 million by 2022.
To date, the Republic of Kazakhstan is a party to 28 international conventions in the field of labor, employment and social protection of the population, including 3 United Nations conventions, the 1st Convention of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and 24 ratified conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO), of which 8 are fundamental, 4 are governance and 12 are technical.
The General Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, republican associations (associations, unions) of employers and republican associations (associations, unions) of trade unions for 2021-2023 provides for consultations on the ratification of 20 international ILO conventions.
To date, the Federation has established cooperation with 36 organizations from foreign trade union centers and international organizations, including from the United Nations system, for example: ILO, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UN Women. In addition, cooperation has been established with the International Trade Union Confederation, the Japan Labor Foundation (JILAF) and the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
In 2021, memorandums of cooperation were signed with the international organization Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development (WINROCK) in the framework of the USAID project Safe Migration in Central Asia (SMICA) and with the organization “International Global Women’s Leadership” in order to promote the rights of women workers.
Another priority of the Federation is to strengthen cooperation and renew membership in international organizations, as well as to motivate member organizations to join international trade union associations.
In order to strengthen international cooperation, the Federation is constantly working on the exchange of experience with leading specialists of the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV). For further interaction, the directions of mutual cooperation have been formed, within the framework of which the priorities of joint work for 2021-2022 have been determined. Within the framework of the agreement, a number of planned events are outlined.
The Federation signed memorandums of understanding and cooperation with 12 foreign trade union centers, including the Union of Trade Unions of Georgia, the Congress of Trade Unions of Malaysia, the Federation of Trade Unions of Armenia, the Confederation of Civil Servants ‘ Unions of Turkey MEMUR-SEN, the Confederation of Trade Unions of Mongolia, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the Confederation of Trade Unions of Azerbaijan, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Tajikistan, the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan, the Federation of Trade Unions of Kyrgyzstan, and signed a Protocol of Intent with the Italian Labor Union.
An important task of the Federation is to increase the participation of its representatives, including member organizations, in all international events in order to improve professional skills and trade union experience in general.
Only in 2020, representatives of the Federation took part in 19 online international events on trade union activities, including the most important international events in the field of labor. In total, over the past year, 25 representatives participated in 12 ILO events, and 18 representatives participated in 7 events organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
In addition, members of trade unions, employees of the central office and regional trade union organizations of the Federation receive annual training at the Japan International Labor Fund JILAF. The total number of people who have been trained in this organization for the entire period of cooperation is 34, in 2021 it is also planned to participate three more representatives of the Federation.
The joint activities with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation are going on fruitfully. At least three joint training seminars on conflict management and labor dispute resolution are held annually. In 2021, 67 trade union employees have been trained to date, and by the end of the year, it is planned to train additionally more than 50 representatives from among the regional member organizations of the Federation. Moreover, five representatives of the Federation from among the youth will participate in the training of the Youth Leadership Program of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
The Federation aims to continue improving the issues of international cooperation.