Government inks general agrt on social and labor relations
The heads of the Federation of Trade Unions of Kazakhstan, the Employers Confederation of Kazakhstan, the Kazakhstan Confederation of Labor, the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs, the Republican Association of Mining and Metallurgical Enterprises, and deputy governors of the regions took part in the commission meeting.
During the meeting, the attendees discussed the issues of the government's social and labor policy and maintaining the decent labor standards for the citizens of the country in line with the tasks set by President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in the State-of-the-Nation Address "New Opportunities for Development amidst the Fourth Industrial Revolution."
Within the meeting, the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the nationwide associations of workers and associations of employers signed the General Agreement for 2018-2020 that specifies the coordinated positions of the parties in the main areas of regulation of social and labor relations. The Action Plan (Roadmap) on the implementation of the commitments undertaken within the framework of the General Agreement was considered and approved.
The document was signed by the parties of the Republican Tripartite Commission on Social Partnership and Regulation of Social and Labor Relations: from the Government - Deputy Prime Minister Yerbolat Dossayev, from the workers association - Chairman of the Trade Unions Federation Bakytzhan Abdraiym and Secretary General of the Kazakhstan Labor Confederation Murat Mashkenov, from the Employer Unions - Board Chairman of the Atameken National Chamber of Entrepreneurs Ablai Myrzakhmetov, Chairman of the Board of the Confederation of Employers, Kadyr Baikenov, and CEO of the Republican Association of Mining and Metallurgical Enterprises and President of the Union of Producers and Exporters of Kazakhstan Nikolay Radostovets.
The General Agreement for 2018-2020 is aimed at the issues of technological modernization of the economy, overall improvement of business environment, facilitation of formal and productive employment of the population, improvement of the quality of human capital, conditions, and labor protection, and occupational and environmental safety.
For reference: In accordance with Article 152 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the General Agreement on a nationwide scale is concluded between the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the nationwide associations of employers and associations of trade unions.
The General Agreement is concluded every 3 years. The 2015-2017 General Agreement expired in 2017. As a result of the implementation of the measures stipulated by the 2015-2017 General Agreement, the indicators in the sphere of social and labor relations have generally improved.
For 3 years, occupational injuries in the country's enterprises have decreased by 1.4%. The number of medium and large enterprises covered by collective labor agreement relations has increased by 3.1% percent.
More than 1,400 enterprises of the country have implemented labor safety and health standards recommended by the International Labor Organization (OHSAS 18001, ILO-OSH). Over 12,000 production councils, which consist of representatives of employers and employees on principles of parity, have been established.
