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A joint republican
conference of the International Confederation of Free Trade
Unions (ICFTU) and the Federation of Trade Unions of the
Republic of Kazakhstan (FPRK) took place in Astana between 13
and 16 March 2001 within the framework of the ICFTU projects
“Strengthening trade union rights in the countries of
Central Asia and Transcaucasus” financially supported by LO–Norway
and “The Formation of a Network of Monitoring the Violations
of Trade Union Rights in Eastern Europe and countries of the
CIS” financially supported by the European Union Commission
(EUC). The conference considered the evidence of violations of
trade union rights, discussing the means to defend the rights
of workers and trade unions at enterprises and the need to
establish a network of monitoring the rights of trade unions.
Based on the results of the conference its participants
adopted the following memorandum, signed by 20 chairpersons of
trade union committees of the largest enterprises with foreign
involvement in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Memorandum
Of the participants of
the republican conference “Trade Union Rights in
Kazakhstan’s Enterprises with Foreign Involvement”
Astana
16 March 2001
Chairpersons of trade union
committees of the largest foreign controlled enterprises of
Kazakhstan, representing the interests of over 200,000 waged
labourers in the base industries of the country, analysed in
detail the situation in the area of labour relations, noting
the numerous cases of violation of rights and freedoms of free
trade unions, which is in disagreement with the legislation of
Kazakhstan and the founding conventions of International
Labour Organisation (ILO), which were ratified by our state.
The trade unions support the
Declaration of the Code of Ethics, which was accepted in
December 2000 by the Council of Foreign Investors under the
President of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
We hope that all foreign, as
well as domestic employers will invariably obey the laws of
Kazakhstan, observing high principles of social partnership,
conforming to the standards and stipulations concerning
employment and labour relations, creating new jobs.
From our side, we express
our aspiration towards the same and turn to all our colleagues
– trade union staff and workers – to build relations with
employers founded on a sophisticated legal basis, to strive to
resolve the social and labour conflicts that arise, to defend
the rights, interests and guarantees of employees by way of
constructive negotiations, concluding mutually advantageous
collective agreements and declarations. We make a plea to all
employers to achieve these goals.
By the highest standards,
trade unions and employers, including foreign investors, must
be united by the single aims and objectives of the Republic of
Kazakhstan, connected with the economic and social progress,
industrial and regional development, improvement of the
material circumstances of workers’ lives.
This is why we stress the
need to establish at every enterprise normal conditions for
the free and uninhibited activity of trade unions,
safeguarding the rights and guarantees of the employees’
representative organisations, providing indispensable
information to the trade unions in accordance with the law of
the Republic of Kazakhstan “Concerning trade unions”, as
well as in keeping with international legal norms.
Leaders of trade unions
working directly with labour collectives have expressed
serious concerns about the development of widely practiced,
unsubstantiated limited term labour contracts, which place
workers in a subordinate position. We are concerned about the
discrimination against Kazakh workers and specialists in the
determination of their pay, the unregulated nature of dealing
with such questions as the provision of pensions to workers in
hazardous employment, while at many enterprises – questions
of social provisions for the disabled workers, irrespective of
the change in ownership.
We, the participants of the
Conference, turn to the Parliament and to the Government of
the Republic of Kazakhstan with a demand carefully to consider
these problems and to introduce the necessary corrections into
the Labour Code and into other relevant legislative acts.
We propose to the trade
union organisations to launch a republic-wide campaign for the
implementation of these suggestions.
In connection with the
celebrations of the tenth anniversary of independence of the
Republic of Kazakhstan we call on all trade union staff and
unionised workers to liven up the fight for the improvement of
the social and economic situation of the workers, including
their demands in the common cause of the nation under the
motto “My contribution to the country’s jubilee”.
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