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■ Georgian Minister of Labour, Healthcare and Social Affairs visits Ireland to study social dialogue system

Georgian Minister of Labour, Healthcare and Social Affairs, Alexandre Kvitashvili, visited Dublin on April 12-16. The visit

was aimed at promoting social dialogue in Georgia and studying Ireland’s thirty-year-long experience of social dialogue. The visit was organized by the International Labour Organization. During the visit the minister was accompanied by the President of the Georgian Employer's Association, Elguja Meladze, the President of the Georgian Trades Union Confederation, Irakli Petriash-vili, and ILO expert Roger Lecourt. Source: www.trend.az ■ Russia’s parliament ratifies ILO Conventions

On June 23, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, Federation Council, ratified three ILO Con-ventions. In particular, this con-

cerns Holidays with Pay Convention C132 (Revised 1970). The Convention protects the fundamental rights of citizens to an annual paid holiday for no less than three weeks. Under the Convention the length of any such qualifying period shall be determined by the competent authority or through the appropri-ate machinery in the country concerned but shall not exceed six months. On this list are also ILO Convention Concerning the Promo-tion of Collective Bargaining C154 (1981) and ILO Workers’ Representatives Conven-tion C135 (1971). Under Convention 135, workers’ representatives in the undertaking shall enjoy effective protection against any act prejudicial to them. Such facilities in the un-dertaking shall be afforded to workers’ repre-sentatives as may be appropriate in order to enable them to carry out their functions promptly and efficiently. The granting of such facilities shall not impair the efficient opera-tion of the undertaking concerned. ■ ILO expert conducts research on youth employment in Azerbaijan

Within the framework of the project on youth employment, ILO consultant Marina Baskakova had a mission to

Azerbaijan on April 18-30. She carried out a

research to prepare a National Report on “Transition from school to decent work in Azerbaijan: men and women”. The consult-ant had meetings with social partners in Baku and Ismayilly. Focus groups were held with employed and unemployed young women and men in Baku and Ismayilly and Lahij.

■ Seminar on occupational safety and health in Arkhangelsk region

On April 21-23, a seminar on occupational safety and health was held in Severodvinsk, Rus-sia’s Arkhangelsk region. Tak-

ing part in the event were representatives of the Arkhangelsk region labour and employ-ment agency, municipalities, the Social In-surance Fund’s regional department, the region’s trade union federation and ILO Of-fice Coordinator of the Project on Improving OSH System in North-West Russia, Marat Rudakov. Within the framework of the semi-nar a meeting with small business representa-tives took place to discuss economic aspects of occupational safety and health at small enterprises. ■ Baku hosts seminar on migration

On April 26, Baku hosted a seminar on migration and devel-opment. The seminar was at-tended by representatives of

Azerbaijan’s Labour and Social Protection Ministry, Foreign Ministry, the state migra-tion service, trade unions and employers’ organizations and experts from UNDP, the International Organization for Migration, the ILO and the International Trade Unions Con-federation. Chief Technical Advisor of the ILO Office Project, Sandra Vermuijten, made a presentation on Migration and Development Project. During the event the ILO made a presentation of its two publications that were translated into the Azerbaijani language - In search of decent work. Migrant workers’ rights: A manual for trade unionists and ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration.

■ Azerbaijan continues fight against human trafficking

On April 28, Baku hosted an anti-trafficking conference. The event took place ahead of the anti-trafficking week in Azerbai-

jan on May 1-6. The events were organized by OSCE Office in Baku, Ministry of Internal Affairs, International Organization for Migra-tion (IOM), International Labour Organization

(ILO) and Anti-Trafficking NGO Network. These events aimed to raise public awareness of trafficking in human beings and involve media in the anti-trafficking week campaign. The ILO was represented by the National Pro-ject Coordinator in Azerbaijan, Elnur Nasibov. Source: www.day.az ■ Murmansk’s small and medium businesses study to manage occu-pational safety and health

On May 19, a seminar on eco-nomic management of occupa-tional safety and health for small and medium businesses

started in Murmansk. This was already the fifth seminar conducted in Murmansk within he framework of the ILO Project on Improv-ing OSH System in North-West Russia. The event was organized by the region’s Health ad Social Development Ministry and the ILO Moscow Office. The ILO Project Coordina-tor, Marat Rudakov, noted that “the practice, including international one, proves that it is less costly to prevent occupational accidents than to liquidate their effects.” Source:www.murman.rfn.ru ■ Moscow State University Professor appointed as member of ILO Committee of Experts on application of Conventions and Recommendations

On June 15, the ILO Governing Body appointed new members of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations. Elena

Machulskaya of the Russian Federation be-came its member. She holds a Masters De-gree and a Doctorate in Labour and Social Law. She is professor of Law in the Depart-ment of Labour Law, Faculty of Law of the Moscow State Lomonosov University as well as Professor of Law in the Department of Labour and Social Law of the Russian State University of Oil and Gas.

The Committee of Experts was set up in 1926 to examine the growing number of gov-ernment reports on ratified conventions. To-day it is composed of 20 eminent jurists ap-pointed by the Governing Body for three-year terms. The Experts come from different geo-graphic regions, legal systems and cultures. The Committee's role is to provide an impar-tial and technical evaluation of the state of application of international labour standards in its annual report.

In Brief

Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Russia 107031, Moscow, 15 Petrovka st., office 23 Tel.: +7 (495) 933-0810, fax: +7 (495) 933-0820 Web-site: www.ilo.ru E-mail: [email protected] Editor: Elena Iskandarova This newsletter is distributed free of charge. Circulation: 3500 copies On the issue of distribution please contact: +7 (495) 933-0810 or [email protected]

GENEVA (ILO News) - The annual Con-ference of the ILO concluded its 2010 session on June 18 with a strong call for placing em-ployment and social protection at the centre of recovery policies.

Meeting in the run-up to the G20 leaders summit in Toronto, representatives of the “real economy” - government, employer and worker delegates from the ILO’s 183 member states - expressed broad concern that the global economic recovery remained “fragile and unevenly distributed, and many labour markets are yet to see jobs recovery match economic recovery.”

Delegates called for action to apply the ILO’s Global Jobs Pact. The Pact was adopted at a crisis summit held during last year’s International Labour Conference.

Speakers also backed Director-General Juan Somavia’s call for a “balanced” policy strategy aimed at se-curing a “jobs-rich” economic recovery, and his warning that recent deficit reduc-tion measures, mainly in social spending, could “directly affect jobs and salaries” at a time of weak economic recovery and continued high levels of unemployment.

The Conference took place against a back-drop of new concern over the continuing global jobs crisis, that has elevated global unemployment to more than 210 million, or its highest level ever recorded, according to the Director-General’s report “Recovery and Growth with Decent Work”.

Delegates adopted a new international labour standard on HIV and AIDS. The stan-dard is the first internationally sanctioned legal instrument aimed at strengthening the contribu-tion of the world of work to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and contains provisions on potentially life-saving prevention programmes and anti-discrimination measures at national and work-place levels.

They also discussed the ILO’s new Global

Report “Accelerating action against child labour” that came on the eve of a Global Child Labour Conference organized by the Government of the Netherlands in The Hague in cooperation with the ILO.

Extracts from delegates’ statements at the ILC plenary sessions Alexander SAFONOV, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Development, Russian Federation: — In this global financial crisis of 2009 and 2010, the Government of my country, in order to reduce labour market tensions, has adopted a series of anti-crisis measures and other measures aimed at in-creasing the income of our citizens. We were able in this way to en-sure social stability.

The Russian Government has also carried out extensive consultations with the social partners on issues such as the draft govern-

ment programme of anti-crisis measures, rec-ommendations on collaboration between the social partners during the economic crisis, progress in implementing the general agree-ment between national union associations, national employers‟ associations and the Gov-ernment for 2008–10, and the development of a new blue-print for social partnership. We are carrying out consultations with our social partners to sign a new general agreement for 2010–12 which will include all the main is-sues of social and labour relations.

Gulshara ABDYKALIKOVA, Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Kazakhstan: — The Global Jobs Pact is very relevant for

all the countries in the region and can be used as a guideline for future activity.

We would like to point out within the framework of the 99th session of the Confer-ence, on behalf of the Government of Kazakh-stan; we have signed with the ILO a decent work programme for 2010−2012.

Thanks to ILO support, the efforts of our social partners have seen substantial progress. There is however, a lack of monitoring of child labour and inadequate statistics and data, as well as other problems that have yet to be resolved. These problems will require con-

structive decisions on which, to a large extent, the achievement of a decent quality of life in our country will depend. In all this, we intend and expect to continue our collaboration with the ILO in order to achieve this. Natiq MAMEDOV, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Azerbaijan: — In a globalized world, the crisis has affected all countries without exception, irrespective of their political or economic

systems. The only reliable way for us to achieve recovery and economic growth is through effective cooperation.

It is noteworthy that the Subregional Con-ference in Baku last December led to the adoption of country priorities for the second phase of the Decent Work Country Pro-gramme for 2010–2013.

Azerbaijan has defined three main priori-ties in the implementation of the Decent Work Country Programme: first, strengthening co-ordination and establishing effective mecha-nisms for labour market regulation; second, enhancing the quality of the workforce and of jobs; and third, implementing measures for social integration of vulnerable groups.

Continued on Page 2

ILO urges strong action on jobs to ensure balanced economic recovery

ISSN 1811-1351 # 2(41) JUNE 2010

Newsletter №2(41),

Continued from Page 1 All of this will enable us to mitigate the

effects of the global financial crisis at the inter-national and national levels, with the ILO as a valuable forum for international cooperation.

Mikhail SHMAKOV, Chair, Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia: — The greatest threat for workers all over the world today is business policy for crisis recovery that can seriously distort labour rela-tions and undo the achievements of recent decades in respect of in-creasing protection for hired workers.

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia is currently launching a minimum wage by law campaign, which aims to prevent attempts by employers to include sums relating to compensation or incentives in the minimum wage when calculating the monthly wage packets.

The ideology of tripartism, promulgated

by the ILO, continues to play an important role in relations between social partners. An example of this is the anti-crisis plan of the Government of the Russian Federation, which includes many proposals made by unions, thus balancing out some of the more negative effects of the crisis on the workers. Botyr ALIMUKHAMEDOV, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Uzbekistan: — In the Director-General’s Report, Re-covery and growth with decent work, the fo-cus is on job creation: sustainable and bal-anced growth with strong job creation is the only sensible way ahead, a global economic priority, the starting point in securing recov-ery and ensuring that it is job-rich. The inclu-sion of Uzbekistan in the Report of the Direc-tor-General among the countries that have achieved a positive GDP growth rate and low unemployment amounts to recognition of the fact that the measures taken by the Government

to maintain and increase employment are con-sistent with the ILO’s strategic objectives. Irakli PETRIASHVILI, Chair, Trade Union Confederation, Georgia: — The establishment of a tripartite social partnership commission (the commission established by social partners - Georgian Trade Union Confederation, Georgian Em-ployers Association, and the Georgian Gov-ernment) can be considered the only positive point of the past four years. We regard it as a success when dialogue and general relations with the Government and employers bring positive changes to the lives of our members.

It will be impossible for Georgia, and the world as a whole, to find a way out of the crisis unless the Government shares the re-sponsibility with all concerned social groups and ensures their full participation in deci-sion-making and in the elaboration of reforms and laws, which calls for real social dialogue to protect the rights of every individual. ■

Extracts from delegates’ statements at plenary sessions of International Labour Conference

On June 14, the ILO and the Republic of Kazakhstan signed on the sidelines of the 99th session of the International Labour Confer-ence in Geneva a new Decent Work Country Programme for 2010-2012.

Signatures under the document were put by Kazakhstan’s Labour and Social Protection Minister Gulshara Abdykalikova, Trade Union Federation Chairman Siyazbek Mukashev and Em-ployers’ Confederation Presi-dent Kadyr Baykenov as well as by the ILO Regional Direc-tor for Europe and Central Asia, Susanne Hoffmann, and the Director of the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Mar-tina Lubyova.

“While drafting a new three-year Decent Work Country Programme we were mainly guided by the UN Millennium Development Goals and the ILO Global Jobs Pact,” Gulshara Abdykalikova said at the sign-ing ceremony adding that the Programme was also based on Kazakhstan’s development strategies for 2020 and for 2030 as well as on the Ministerial Declaration adopted at the UN Conference in Almaty last December.

She also noted that Kazakhstan drafted a roadmap to fight the global financial crisis. As a result the republic’s unemployment reduced from 6.9 percent to 6.3 percent in 2009. This year 200,000 new jobs will be created within the framework of the roadmap

and another 200,000 – within the framework of the industrial and innovative policy to be launched in 2010.

“The new Decent Work Country Pro-gramme that we drafted together with our partners includes - first, regulation of labour relations in conformity with international standards, second, productive employment, and third, the strengthening of social partner-

ship. I believe this would give a fresh impetus to resolving the existing problems for the good of our population,” the minister said.

“This new Decent Work Country Pro-gramme is certainly most important in the light of and against the background of Presi-

dent Nazarbayev’s ambitious goals for Kazakhstan to join the fifty most competitive global economies by 2020 and the top twenty countries with the most favourable business climate. However, competitiveness can only then be sustainable if it is joined by social stability and if this stability is based on automatic stabilizers like effective em-ployment and social policy,” said Susanne Hoffmann.

“The implementation of the new Decent Work Coun-

try Programme has already started, because there has already been cooperation between the ILO and Kazakhstan on the amendment of the Labour Code, on occupational safety and health and on the principles of corporate social responsibility,” Susanne Hoffmann said wishing Kazakhstan success in the Pro-gramme’s implementation.■

ILO and Kazakhstan sign new Decent Work Country Programme

Newsletter №2(41), Page 13

Our publications

All publications in this section have been prepared within the framework of the ILO-EU Project "Towards Sustainable Partnerships for the Effective Governance of Labour Migration in the Russian Federation, the Caucasus and Central Asia" . All publications of the ILO Moscow Office can be found at our website www.ilo.ru

Handbook for Armenians abroad (in Armenian and English)

On April 29, the Handbook for Armeni-ans Abroad was launched in Yerevan. The Handbook was developed within the frame-work of the ILO-EU project and with the support of the ILO/Department for Interna-tional Development (UK).

The Handbook was developed for Arme-nians living abroad, said Nilim Baruah, the ILO Project’s Chief Technical Advisor. It will help them easily facilitate interaction with their country of origin and contribute to the development of their Homeland.

Diaspora Minister, Ms. Hranoush Ha-kobyan, said in turn the Handbook aims to create an information base that will allow Armenians living abroad to get more knowl-edge about their country and necessary infor-mation on Armenia’s legislation.

“There are many Armenians who would like to return to Armenia and first of all they want to study Armenia’s legislation as they should live and work in compliance with the laws,” she said.

Both the Armenian Diaspora that is esti-mated at about 10 million and the Armenian authorities acknowledge that exchanges be-tween the Diaspora and Armenians living in Armenia can be a powerful tool for social transformation and that they can positively contribute to Armenia’s development.

The launch was attended by around a hundred representatives from government, embassies, international organizations, Dias-pora organizations, trade unions and media. Source: www.news.rusrek.com

Labour Migration and Productive Utilization of Human Resources Kyrgyz Republic (in Russian and English)

The purpose of the study is to contribute to the productive utiliza-tion of human resources in the Kyrgyz Republic and in the region by making an analysis and recommendations to-wards improving the quality of education/train-ing and portability of qualifications of mid-dle and lower skilled Kyrgyz workers, in oc-cupations in demand in CIS countries and where there is surplus within the country.

The productive utili-zation of human re-sources entails better jobs for Kyrgyz workers as well as better trained workers for employers and the economy in the country and in the region. The research has included a survey of employers in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, a survey of Kyrgyz labour migrants in Rus-sia and Kazakhstan, and a survey of potential labour migrants in Kyr-gyzstan. The surveys were conducted in June-August 2008.

Migrant remittances to Tajikistan. The potential for sav-ings, investment and existing financial products to attract remittances. (in Russian and English)

Tajikistan has high rates of emigration. Remittances play a vital role in the eco-nomic wellbeing of the population; about 89 per-cent of emigrants regularly send remittances to their relatives and households in Tajikistan.

Various estimates show that there is still big poten-tial for unused savings to

be attracted to the financial system. According to the National Bank estimates, about 2.67 billion US dol-

lars were remitted to Tajikistan by emigrants in 2008. In the beginning of 2009, the ILO initiated a study which included a

survey of 1,267 households that currently have a family member living and working abroad, and a survey on financial products to attract savings and economic investments from migrants. The final goal of the study was to come up with recommendations and new mechanisms for integrating remittances into the economic development in the country.


A training manual on combating traffick-ing in humans for law enforcement agencies in Armenia, developed with support of the OSCE, ILO and UNDP was presented in Yerevan on May 26 to respective state, non-governmental and international agencies.

The manual prepared by national experts will be used for training of all law enforce-ment practitioners in the anti-trafficking sector, including prosecutors, police, judges, border guards and labour inspectors. It will also serve as a reference material for law school teachers and instructors. The develop-ment of the training manual was supported by the OSCE-ILO-ICMPD regional project on “Developing the comprehensive anti-trafficking response in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia,” funded by the EU and the UNDP Anti-Trafficking Project funded by the Government of Norway.

Emil Babayan, Deputy Minister of Jus-tice of the Republic of Armenia and Colonel Nazaret Mnatsakanyan, Deputy Head of the RA Police General Department for Combat-ing Organized Crime opened the event and stressed the importance of strengthening the

capacity of the national stakeholders to com-bat trafficking in humans.

“We prioritize a more coordinated and sustainable training for the Armenian law enforcement agencies to effectively imple-

ment the adequate anti-trafficking legislation that the country has recently put in place. For this purpose we contributed to the develop-ment of a locally-owned and managed train-ing programme that will serve the needs of all Armenian Law Enforcement entities re-

sponsible for the prevention and prosecution of human trafficking and the protection of victims”, said Carel Hofstra, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

The UNDP Armenia Representative Alla Bakunts noted: “This nationally owned train-ing manual is a living document and we hope that in the course of time it will be enriched with the inputs and contributions from the practitioners, and will be updated and ad-justed appropriately in order to reflect newly emerging needs and requirements of the au-dience.”

“This Manual will contribute to ensuring protection and decent work for many labour migrants who are faced with risks of exploi-tation and trafficking. It is also an important step to fulfill Armenia’s obligations under international conventions ratified by the Re-public of Armenia”, Nver Sargsyan, ILO Regional Anti-Trafficking Project Officer for Armenia stated.

The presentation of the Manual was fol-lowed by a discussion on further practical steps to ensure sustainable fight against hu-man trafficking.■

New anti-trafficking training manual for law enforcement agencies in Armenia launched with OSCE, ILO and UNDP support

Our publications

UNDP Armenia Representative Alla Bakunts and Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Yere-van Carel Hofstra at presentation

Cooperative sector in Kyrgyzstan. Analytical report (in Russian)

The ILO study “The Role of Cooperatives in Poverty Reduction and Employment Growth” is very timely for Kyrgyzstan. The main task of the study is to renovate the previous study conducted by the ILO in 2004. A new ver-sion of the study includes analytical information and facts on the development of cooperative movement in Kyrgyzstan in modern times and on the government’s policy toward cooperatives.

It also reviews the norma-tive and legal base of coop-

eratives and their role in employment promotion as a result of poverty re-duction and characterizes the effective programs and projects of agricultural cooperatives.

The study reflects different assistance measures for cooperative in eco-nomic, social and public sectors as well as the role of employers, workers and cooperative movement in Kyrgyzstan and its cooperation with coopera-tives in the CIS.

WIND Programme Manual on occu-pational safety and health for farmers in South-ern Kazakhstan Region (in Russian and Kazakh)

WIND Programme Manual (Work Im-provement in Neighbourhood Devel-opment) on occupa-tional safety and health in the agricultural sector gives practical answers to concrete OSH prob-lems in this sector.

The Manual is based on the experience of the

Kyrgyz Republic and mainly on the effective and certified schemes of the WIND Programme.

The Manual is developed for employers and workers of agri-cultural enterprises and farms, including cotton-growing and cot-ton-cleaning industries.


GENEVA (ILO News) – As the football World Cup in South Africa kicks off, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is to mark the World Day Against Child La-bour with an urgent appeal to “go for the goal – end child labour,” calling particular

attention to the target of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016.

“While billions are caught up in the ex-citement of the football World Cup, some 215 million children are labouring for sur-vival. Education and play are luxuries for them. Progress towards ending child labour is slowing down and we are not on course to end its worst forms by 2016. We have to get the momentum going again. Let us draw inspiration from the World Cup and rise to the challenge with the energy, the right strat-egy and the commitment it takes to get to the goal”, said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.

In Geneva on June 11 the International Labour Conference discussed the ILO’s new Global Report on child labour entitled “Accelerating action against child labour”. That same day, to mark the World Day hun-dreds of local school children participated in a “Children’s solidarity event” at the Place des Nations organized by the “Le Respect, ca change la Vie” community association, in cooperation with the ILO. Children and local civic leaders gathered around a football goal to “go for the goal against child labour” and showed the “Red card against child labour”.

The World Day comes one month after more than 450 delegates from 80 countries met at a Conference in The Hague convened by the Government of the Netherlands to agree on a Roadmap to accelerate progress to reach the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016. The Roadmap sets out a number of guiding principles and iden-tifies action to be taken by governments, social partners (workers and employers), civil society, non-governmental and other civil society, regional and international or-ganizations..

Agreement on the Roadmap came as the ILO’s third Global Report on child labour warned that the global campaign against child labour is at a critical juncture. The Re-port shows that global efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour are losing mo-mentum, and warns that unless they are sig-nificantly stepped up the 2016 target will not be reached.

This target was set in 2006 after positive trends contained in the previous Global Re-port suggested that the elimination of the worst forms of child labour was possible by 2016.■

June 12 - World Day against Child Labour Go for the Goal: End Child Labour

On April 9, the Leningrad region’s social protection committee hosted a seminar on the elimination of the worst forms of child la-bour, violence and cruel treatment of chil-dren.

The seminar was organized by the Lenin-grad region’s social protection committee in cooperation with the ILO Subregional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and St. Petersburg Social and Economic Institute.

Among participants were the children’s ombudsman under the Leningrad region governor, representatives of the St. Peters-burg and Leningrad region internal affairs department, the committee for general and vocational education, and top officials and specialists of municipalities and social pro-tection and educational institutions.

Participants in the event studied the re-sults of the survey on child labour in the Leningrad region conducted by the ILO Subregional Office and the faculty of sociol-ogy of the St. Petersburg State University. They highlighted that forced child labour,

involvement of children in hazardous and criminal activities and labour that can endan-

ger the child’s physical, mental or moral well-being are inadmissible.

They underlined that for the eradication of child labour it is necessary not only to fight illegal child employment, but also to promote social work with families, help par-ents to find jobs and expand opportunities for legal employment of adolescents through employment services. They stressed the need to introduce such innovative social technolo-gies as street social services and family sup-port groups and to implement special pro-grammes for social adaptation of street chil-dren.

The events on the elimination of child labour will be included in the target pro-gramme entitled Children of the Leningrad Region for 2011-2013 that is being devel-oped by the Leningrad region’s social protec-tion committee and other social sector com-mittees.■

Source: www.47news.ru

Leningrad region takes efforts to end child labour


ILO Moscow Office and Plekhanov State Economic Academy seek to boost cooperation

On May 18, the ILO Office and the Plekha-nov Russian Academy of Economics signed a Collaboration Arrangement. The Director of the ILO Subregional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Martina Lybyova, and Acad-emy Rector Viktor Grishin put their signatures to the document.

The parties acknowledge that the Coopera-tion Programme between the ILO and the Russian Federation for 2010-2012 stems, on the one hand, from Russia’s strategic priori-

ties and social and economic development programmes, in the implementation of which the Russian government and Russian employ-ers’ and workers’ organizations have an equal stake, and on the other hand, the strategic idea of decent work of the ILO.

The parties expressed their readiness to further promote fundamental principles and rights at work enshrined in the ILO docu-ments and reflected in Russia’s national legis-lation.

The parties agreed to develop cooperation aimed at the improvement of training and retraining taking into consideration practical approaches of the ILO programmes in promo-tion of decent work, improvement of labour legislation, active employment policy, wage system and OSH policy, further development of labour relations regulation through the collective bargaining process and a system of the state social standards aimed at poverty reduction.

They will also jointly organize special trainings, conferences and seminars, develop methodic materials on the ILO directions of work and international labour standards and promote study tours on international labour standards and technical cooperation.■

ILO International Labour Standards Department and Kutafin Moscow State Law Academy to step up relations

On May 21, a Memorandum of Coopera-tion was signed between the ILO Interna-tional Labour Standards Department and Russia’s leading scientific centre for legal science - the Kutafin Moscow State Law Academy - by Department Director Cleo-patra Doumbia-Henry and Academy Rector Viktor Blazheyev.

The parties undertook to work together to promote knowledge, understanding and visi-bility of international labour standards in the Russian Federation and the CIS countries to make best efforts to enable the Academy to participate in the Internship Programme of the Standards Department.

They will also conduct joint research in areas of common interest and organize joint activities to promote international labour standards in Russia for judges, lawyers and legal educations.■

ILO signs Memorandums of Cooperation with Russia’s leading educational institutions

Russia preparing to ratify ILO Maritime Labour Convention

On May 24, Russia’s Deputy Health and Social Development Minister Alexander Safonov held talks with the Director of the ILO International Labour Standards Depart-ment, Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry.

The talks focused on the preparation for Russia’s ratification of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.

Taking part in the meeting were also representatives of the Russian Transport Ministry, trade unions and employ-ers’ (shipowners) associations. They ex-changed opinions on what efforts should be taken to ratify the Convention.

“The Russian Federation actively cooper-ates with the International Labour Office in preparation for ratifying the ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006,” Safonov said. “The implementation of the Convention will undoubtedly require innovations in the sector of Russia’s social and labour relations. Dur-ing 2010 Russia plans to create a normative

and legal base on merchant shipping.” The deputy minister noted that a package

of documents for the Convention’s ratifica-tion is planned to be submitted to the govern-ment already by late 2010.

Safonov also briefed Doumbia-Henry on the country’s efforts towards ratification of other ILO Conventions.

In particular, he said the government has already submitted to the State Duma’s con-sideration the draft laws on ratification of such conventions as C132 Holidays with Pay Convention, C135 Workers’ Representatives Convention and C154 Collective Bargaining Convention.

It is worth noting that last February Rus-sia ratified the Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No. 185).■

Source: www.minzdravsoc.ru

ILO’s new area of work focuses on signing Cooperation Agreements with Russia’s leading higher education institu-tions. These agreements aim to harmonize further the national standards with international standards on social and labour issues as well as to improve the level of vocational training and retraining of civil servants taking into account international experience in social and labour policies.

The ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, was adopted at the 94th session of the International Labour Conference on February 23, 2006. It consolidates and updates around 70 ILO Conventions and Recommendations related to seafarers.

The new labour standard sets minimal regulations on practically all aspects of seafarers’ work and rest, conditions of employment, including training and quali-fications, food and catering, medical care on board ship and ashore, repatriation, social protection and access to shore-based welfare facilities.

At present, the Convention was ratified by nine countries – the Bahamas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Libe-ria, the Marshall Islands, Norway, Pa-nama and Spain.

Russia set up the intergovernmental commission on preparation for the Con-vention’s ratification.


We continue to brief our readers on the evaluation reports on ILO’s projects. This time the ILO Moscow Office Evaluation Union analyzed ILO and UNDP’s joint project on Community development through employment creation and improved migration management

in Tajikistan conducted in 2007-2009.

Despite the considerable chal-lenges posed by the scale of the prob-lem to be addressed, the limited time frame and funding, the low capacity of implementation partners, and the deteriorating economic environment, the project was implemented success-fully. Among the main successes the establishment and strengthening of close working relationships with so-cial partners, especially in the Gov-ernment and trade unions, and the more or less timely and complete provision of outputs and activities as planned stand out as particular achievements.

The overall goal of the project was to increase the level of human security of peo-ple from the Rasht region of Tajikistan, in particular socio-economic and personal secu-

rity of people on the move and of women that are left without income.

Clearly the real tangible change in the lives of 50,000 people in the communities that benefited from improvements of their communal infrastructure should not be un-derestimated. Likewise, the opportunities gained by the 750 recipients of micro-loans and the hundreds of participants in trainings are indeed significant.

The idea of bringing together the highly specialized technical expertise of ILO with the strongly established implementation ca-pacity and field presence of UNDP, as well as the experience of IOM with labour migra-tion in Tajikistan is excellent.

All advantages of the project and lessons learnt will be taken into account while the ILO launches other projects in Tajikistan and other countries of the subregion.■

ILO supports migrant resource centres in Moscow

Migration figures are increasing, with the Moscow area being the top destination for labour migrants. Migrants often face diffi-culties with regard to finding and maintain-ing employment, insufficient working and living conditions as well as labour exploita-tion. An important factor that leads to this situation is that many migrants fail to make use, protect and even be aware of their rights, especially when they are staying in Russia on an irregular basis.

As one of the measures to tackle these issues ILO supports two migrant resource centres in Moscow providing counseling services and office equipment. The migrant resource centres try to support labour mi-grants mainly by providing legal aid and counseling. One of the goals is to raise mi-grants’ awareness of how their human and labour rights should be protected.

One centre was established by the Kyr-gyz government, and works mainly with Kyrgyz migrants, another one – by a non-governmental organization and works mainly with Tajik migrants (although nationality is not a criterion for access). Although their efforts are aimed at providing legal protec-tion and access to social services as well as counseling on employment and residence-related matters to individual migrant work-ers, migrant resource centres through coop-eration with policy-makers, law-enforcement agencies and the media are committed to build capacity for research and policy mak-ing and to facilitate networking between organizations and enterprises dealing with labour migration.

For three months more than 3,300 mi-grants have received assistance, information and counseling, mainly on job-seeking, em-ployment and residence in Russia as well as on issues concerning unpaid wages, infringe-ments upon their rights and social-legal and medical assistance.

The Kyrgyz centre installed computers and visitors can use the Internet free of charge. Additionally, it created an informa-tion hotline and developed booklets that contain information on Russian legislation and international agreements concerning arrival, stay and departure of labour migrants as well as their recruitment by Russian em-ployers. The Kyrgyz centre also set up an

SMS service that informs migrants about new vacancies and installed a data base with vacancies for foreign workers and profiles of labour migrants for employers. It also pro-vides an application training.

Not only labour migrants but also em-ployers seek advice in migrant resource cen-tres that closely cooperate with trade unions and private companies, as well as govern-mental structures and representations of the countries of destination. A joint vocational training programme was developed in col-laboration with the Russian Construction Trade Union. Migrant workers who con-sulted the migrant resource centres were employed in gastronomy, the cleaning and construction sectors.

The activity has been conducted in the framework of the ILO-EU project to promote the effective governance of labour migration in CIS countries.

The Chief Technical Adviser, Nilim Ba-ruah, pointed out that migrant workers have directly benefited from the work of the cen-tres in the times of the economic crisis in the form of legal assistance on issues such as payment of due wages as well as job place-ments. He mentioned that both centres are very good examples of how on-site support can be provided to migrant workers in the destination countries. ■

ILO Office evaluates its project in Tajikistan


ILO Moscow started up cooperation with Uzbekistan in the end of 1990s. The first steps were to analyse the situation, assess the need for the Russian language OSH informa-tion and basic information on modern OSH systems.

The Uzbek OSH centre used the ILO materials and developed modular courses on all basic OSH issues for several sectors, such as agriculture, bakery, textile, etc. In the middle of 2000s the attention focused on the introduction of modern OSH management systems at model enterprises. Model training for the OSH management system (ILO-OSH 2001), risk assessment were updated, while labour inspectors and safety representatives were retrained.

In cooperation with Uzbek partners the

project organised seminars in all industrial-ised regions of Uzbekistan and for the major industrial sectors. The response from enter-prises was overwhelming, more and more courses were requested. As the project hu-man resources are limited and cannot cover every enterprise in the country, a four level response was developed to cope with the demand for training to improve the OSH system at enterprises.

This approach includes four steps. First, these are general awareness raising informa-tive training seminars. They are aimed at mixed audiences, where the basic informa-tion of OSH, hazards, risks, priority of pre-vention as a part of the systematic approach is presented.

Second, these are introductory work-shops for one specific industry. These educa-tional seminars of methodical nature cover all OSH-related priorities of the ILO and provide written information for participants to be able to familiarise themselves with the systematic approach and various OSH con-cepts.

The third step includes training seminars at specifically selected large enterprises, in industries, where introductory workshops have been held. They include specific discus-sions of the ILO-OSH 2001 (OSH manage-ment systems), the creation of safety com-mittees and the concept of hazards, risks and

priority setting. At this stage enterprises are expected to start introducing OSH manage-ment systems and set up risk assessment groups.

The fourth step stipulates consultative workshops (hands-on training) in individual companies, where introductory and training seminars had been held. They include walk-through reviews in selected factory depart-ments, discussions with members of organ-ized safety committees and with members of risk assessment groups.

Several regions and industrial sectors have passed training seminars. Around 1,000 experts attended these OSH courses; their enterprises cover over a quarter of a million workers. Almost ten enterprises and sectors are preparing for the hands-on training in autumn for practical introduction of OSH management systems.

The impact of the Uzbek approach has encouraged Tajikistan to invite experts from the ILO and Uzbekistan to present the con-cept in the Tajik OSH training. Tajikistan has included modernisation of its OSH system and labour inspection in the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for 2010-2013.

The Uzbek OSH project is using exten-sive experience from Finland and South Ko-rea, and is sponsored by both countries.■

On April 21-22, ILO Moscow Office experts Sandra Vermuijten and Natalia Hof-mann visited Saratov to study the labour migration situation and observance of labour migrants’ rights in the region.

One of the important aspects of the Mi-gration project in the Russian Federation is information dissemination among migrants. To that effect a mapping of resource centers in Russia was undertaken which covers Mos-cow, St Petersburg and other big cities such as Samara, Saratov, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, said ILO Project Chief Technical Advisor Sandra Vermujten.

“After discussions with all of our part-

ners we concluded that it would not be op-portune or sustainable to create new resource centers for migrant workers. Instead we have opted for supporting existing centres that operate in a responsive manner and are in need of extra support. As a result, the project bought equipment for non-commercial part-nership “Labour Migration” International Alliance, the Professional Union of Migrant Workers Employed in Construction, Munici-pal Facilities and Related Sectors, and the Saratovskiy Istochnik centre to support mi-grants. Training for the staff of the centers is foreseen,” she said.

Within the framework of the visit a roundtable meeting devoted to labour migra-

tion problems in the Saratov region took place.

Taking part in the event were representa-tives of he labour ministry, the federal migra-tion service, law enforcement agencies, trade unions, employers and NGOs.

Participants in the event pointed out that it is important to call on labour migrants for more thorough observance of the labour legislation, commonly recognized rules and requirements of the region, where they come to work. Non-governmental organizations, government and law enforcement agencies should pay special attention to raising for-eign workers’ awareness of laws.■

Enterprise response leads to new OSH methodology in Uzbekistan ILO has been running a long-term occupational safety and health (OSH) project in Uzbekistan. A multitude of OSH seminars, translated and adapted OSH information, several modular courses on OSH and a systematic develop-ment of an interactive training system has raised the interest among enterprises to an unprecedented level. The project is moving from OSH awareness raising to practical hands-on introduction of modern OSH management systems at selected enterprises and industrial sectors. Senior OSH Specialist of the ILO Moscow Office Wiking HUSBERG gives a brief review of the project and a four-level OSH approach.

Labour migration in Saratov region: problems and prospects for their solution


KALUGA, June 2-3 – The workshop organized by the ILO and UNAIDS brought together delegates from sixteen Russian re-gions – representatives of the government, trade unions, employers’ organizations and experts of regional AIDS centers. Moreover, among attendees were members of the ILO Expert Group on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work – representatives of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Con-sumer Rights’ Protection and Human Well-Being Rospotrebnadzor, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepre-neurs. The workshop’s title defines its agenda and focus - the role of social partner-ship in HIV prevention among working population and experience of the project “Reducing stigma and discrimination in the workplace and promoting tolerance through HIV/AIDS awareness campaign”.

Yuri Kondratyev, Minister of Health of the Kaluga region, opened the event and stressed the importance of prevention of HIV and other socially significant diseases at the regional level and in the country as a whole.

Although the Kaluga region registers a rather low level of the HIV spread, the problem of prevention remains quite acute. He noted that there were many big foreign enterprises and plants in the region that attracted specialists from European countries such as Germany and France as well as labour migrants from Central Asian countries.

Larisa Dementyeva, Deputy Head of Rospotrebnadzor’s HIV/AIDS Surveillance Unit, also highlighted importance of preven-tive efforts. She noted that most new cases of the HIV infection accounted for people aged between 30-40 years. In this respect the role of the ILO and social partners as well as their HIV prevention programmes in the work-place is extremely important.

Participants of the workshop had the opportunity to study experience of the ILO’s HIV/AIDS workplace prevention programs in various Russian regions. The report pre-pared by the Kaluga regional AIDS centre evoked huge interest among the audience. It proposed a concrete strategy of joint actions of social partners under the guidance of the AIDS centre, that proved itself effective of late.

Reports made by members of the Na-tional Priority Project “Health” – Novosi-birsk Aircraft Manufacturing Enterprise named after Chkalov and the Barnaul Ma-chine-Tool Plant – also attracted high atten-tion. Tatyana Grechanaya, Director of GBC-Moscow Knowledge, Evaluation and Per-formance Department, presented a report on the experience of “HEALTH @T WORK” programme successfully implemented by the Global Business Coalition in several Russian regions.

Live discussions during the event and on

the sidelines focused on how to engage so-cial partners in HIV prevention in the work-place, how to ensure projects and initiatives’ sustainability and how to keep effective ac-cumulated experience and methodology. At present, the programmes of HIV workplace prevention accrued huge experience and knowledge, but at the governmental level they face serious obstacles both objective (such as the financial and economic crisis, reduction of expenses on prevention activi-ties, etc.) and subjective (decision-makers’ attitude towards HIV and stigmatization and discrimination of HIV-positive people, etc.). In this situation exchange of positive and negative experience and joint search for deci-sions as that in Kaluga becomes very timely.

Core ideas and recommendations of the workshop’s participants were included into a joint resolution that will be submitted to the Tripartite Commission for the Regulation of Social and Labour Relations for consideration.■

Seminar in Kaluga focuses on HIV prevention at workplace: summarizing experience and planning further steps

On March 29, Baku hosted a workshop on forced labour and trafficking in human beings for representatives of tourist agencies, mainly private ones, and Azerbaijan’s Minis-try of Culture and Tourism. The event was co-organized by the ILO Moscow Office and the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Azerbaijan at the request of the Interior Ministry’s anti-trafficking unit and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The OSCE Mission to Azerbaijan also took part in the event with specifically designed presentations.

ILO Chief Technical Advisor, Anti-

Trafficking Project Caucasus, Zsolt Dudas said the workshop’s objective was to intro-duce models of regulation, self-regulation and codes of conducts in particular in rela-tion to the tourist sector in Azerbaijan.

The workshop produced a very interac-tive and lively discussion on the role of tour-ist agencies in identification, referral and prevention in individual cases. It also fo-cused on how the tourist sector can move forward to institutionally prevent forced labour and trafficking in human beings.

Experts cited as examples the Ethical

Trading Initiative (ETK) from the UK, CIETT Code of Conduct (International Con-federation of Private Employment Agencies), GAP labour contracts and the Guiding Prin-ciples for Employers from the relevant hand-book of the ILO Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL).

The Ministry of Tourism, the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Azerbaijan and tourist agencies agreed to meet in the near future to discuss the adop-tion of a sectoral code regulating their activi-ties in this field.■

Workshop on forced labour and trafficking for tourist agencies in Azerbaijan

The chairman of the trade union of the Chka-lov Novosibirsk Aircraft Manufacturing Enterprise, Viktor Raim, speaking at the conference

Yuri Kondratyev and Elena Dementyeva unveiled the conference


On April 28, the All-Russian conference to mark the World Day for Safety and Health at Work took place at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Moscow. This year’s theme of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is Emerging risks and new patterns of prevention in a changing world of work.

The International Labour Organization estimates that 2.3 million people die each year as a result of work-related accidents and diseases, four per cent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is lost due to acci-dents and work-related diseases.

“Sustainable improvement of working conditions should be based on social partner-

ship in OSH, which is an integral component of the comprehensive and stable occupational safety and health management system,” said Russian Deputy Health and Social Develop-ment Minister Alexander Safonov.

“The International Labour Organization in its report published for the World Day for Safety and Health at Work placed an empha-sis on new risks emerging together with tech-nological innovations, globalization and cri-sis. Special attention is paid to risks that have not emerged yet, but may bring about very serious consequences. These are the so-called emerging risks. The ILO attracts attention of

employers, workers, governments and scientific community to these very risks that are still given insuf-ficient attention,” said ILO Moscow Office senior OSH specialist Wik-ing Husberg.

“A systematic approach to risk management helps to have a broader look at the occupational safety and health. Occupational safety and health is considered a compulsory component that is inte-grated into all spheres of productive activity. Production quality, labour productivity, environmental safety and productive efficiency directly

depend on working conditions of every

worker, on the production safety level and on how this level is maintained and steadily improved,” he said.

Participants in the conference discussed modernization of the legal base on occupa-tional safety and health, the creation of a risk management system and workplace assess-ment.

They focused on stronger social partner-ship in OSH, prevention of occupational acci-dents and diseases, promotion of occupational safety and health at enterprises and health protection and formation of healthy lifestyle.

The conference also discussed labour efficiency and social policy, renovation of the system of social obligations to fully imple-ment the principles of affordability and qual-ity of social services.

Taking part in the conference were heads of federal bodies of executive and legislative power, state supervisory structures, represen-tatives of employers’ and workers’ associa-tions, national and regional non-governmental institutions, research institutes and industrial enterprises as well as OSH specialists.■

Source: press service of the Russian Health and Social Development Ministry.

28 April - World Day for Safety and Health at Work Emerging risks and new patters of prevention in a changing world of work

All-Russian conference on occupational safety and health

Baku hosts international seminar on occupational accident insurance

On April 28-29, Baku hosted an interna-tional technical seminar on Accident Insur-ance: History of Development, Reforms and Current Challenges.

The event was organized by the Interna-tional Social Security Association (ISSA), the State Social Protection Fund of Azerbai-jan and the German Social Accident Insur-ance.

Among attendees were experts of the International Labour Organization, the Asso-ciation of International Pension and Social Funds, the World Bank and social insurance specialists from Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Germany and other European countries.

The ILO was represented by Mariko Ouchi, Senior Social Security Specialist.

At present, Azerbaijan’s process of building an occupational accident insurance system is in its initial stage, the head of the

State Social Protection Fund of Azerbaijan, Salim Muslimov, said in his opening re-marks.

“This is an absolutely new sector for Azerbaijan, therefore we together with the ISSA decided to hold such a seminar that will help us to exchange experience with foreign specialists,” he said.

Muslimov stressed importance of a draft law on compulsory occupational accident and disease insurance adopted by Azerbai-jan’s parliament in two readings.

Azerbaijan can become the first and the only country on the European space, where the compulsory accident insurance system will be applied by private structures, said Dr Joachim Breuer, Managing Director of the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV).

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Labour and Social Protection Minister Natiq Mamedov said the

adoption of the draft law will contribute to the development of the labour protection system in the country. Over the past three years 45,746 labour contracts were con-cluded, while the number of occupational accidents shrank by almost two-fold.

“The social policy pursued by the coun-try’s authorities is aimed at protecting worker’s health and improving his/her living standards irrespective of workplace,” he said. In compliance with the ILO Conventions and relying on Europe’s experience Azerbaijan made certain amendments and addenda to the Labour Code.

Participants also discussed international accident insurance experience, the impact of demographic trends on accident insurance and insurance in energy, textiles and copper industry.■ Source: www.trend.az, www.azeri.ru


Vologda region: Through social partnership to safe work

Russia’s Vologda region is an active partner of ILO Project on Improving OSH System in North-West Russia. The region prepared its profile of occupational safety and health and is drafting the OSH pro-gramme. Several enterprises of the region in close cooperation with the ILO actively in-troduce modern OSH management systems.

On May 12, Vologda hosted a regional conference on the role of social partnership in effective management of occupational safety and health in a changing world of work. It was devoted to the World Day for Safety and Health at Work marked on April 28. The event was organized by the Vologda region labour and social development depart-ment, the regional public organization of the Vologda region’s Trade Union Federation and the Union of Industrialists and Entrepre-neurs.

Regional OSH coordinator of the ILO Moscow Office, Roman Litvyakov, in his report underlined the role of social partnership in creating and ensuring safe working condi-tions in a changing world of work. New and emerging risks that were created by techno-logical advances and changing working condi-tions and were considerably aggravated by the economic and financial crisis require thorough attention of all parties of social partnership.

“Maximum possible involve-ment of workers into the processes of management of occupational risks, including new ones, guaran-tees success,” he said. “At present, the role of the social dialogue, effective work of OSH committees and occupational safety represen-tatives along with new risk detec-tion and management tools at en-terprises are of para-mount importance. Only joint efforts of all social partners within the framework of effec-

tive OSH management systems, the development of OSH culture at every enterprise and in the society in general can help to achieve the ultimate goal of re-ducing occupation accidents to zero.”

ILO North-West Russia Pro-ject Coordinator Marat Rudakov reported on practical experience and prospects of the ILO project.

The theme of social partnership was not chosen accidentally. This term has already been known in Russia and social partnership institutions have been regulated by the legis-lation. However, the issue of increasing effi-ciency of such institutions is very timely, especially amid the global economic crisis that affects working conditions at many enterprises. In compliance with the Guidelines on occupa-tional safety and health manage-ment systems, ILO-OSH 2001 and the relevant interstate stan-dard GOST 12.0.230-2007 work-ers should take part in occupa-tional safety management, risk assessment and accident preven-tion planning activities.

The ILO Moscow Office drafted a spe-cial training course on social partnership for occupational safety and health at enterprises. The course was developed within the framework of the Project on Im-proving OSH System in North-West Russia and is based on ad-vanced international experience in this issue.

After the conference ILO experts conducted a two-day training for representatives of pilot enterprises, trade unionists

and specialists of the labour and social devel-opment department. They also visited one of Vologda’s pilot enterprises, where trainees were able to test modern workplace monitor-ing tools (Finland’s workplace inspection system ELMERI).

Trainees said they would apply modern methods and approaches to develop social partnership in the occupational safety and health at enterprises.

This autumn the ILO North-West Russia Project will launch a training of trainers on OSH in the region. This would help to pro-mote advanced knowledge on occupational safety and health among senior officials of the region’s enterprises and to introduce risk assessment and management methods and effective social partnership mechanisms.■

New name of ILO Office

In April the ILO Subregional Office was designated as the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.■

Newsletter №2 (41),

RUSSIA Barnaul, Altai Territory – World Day events; a videoconference at the Altai territory labour and employment depart-ment. Vladimir, Vladimir region – rallies, information campaigns, conferences and workshops. Gvardeysk, Kaliningrad region – seminars, occupational safety contests at enterprises, the creation of occupational safety information boards and trainings for safety experts. Irkutsk, Irkutsk region – a meeting on occupational safety and health and the award ceremony for the region’s best occupational safety specialists.

Krasnodar, Krasnodar territory – exhibitions of modern individual protection means and of publications on occupational safety and health; – consultation services provided by OSH training centers; – the award ceremony for the best enterprise on occupational safety and health in 2009; – a workshop on occupational safety and health. Kushchevsky district, Krasnodar territory – a contest for best occupational safety and health specialist. Leningrad region – a conference on emerging risks and patterns of prevention in a changing world of work.

Moscow – All-Russian Conference on Occupational Safety and Health at the Chamber of Com-merce and Industry; – Moscow Unified Grid Company (MOESK) marked the World Day for Safety and Health through organizing the OSH Week and the OSH Hour events at its offices; – meetings, dissemination of OSH posters, the creation of an online newspaper on OSH, the issuance of OSH instructions, first aid train-ings; – a seminar on technical regulation of the market of individual protection means, its development and prospects.

Murmansk, Murmansk region – Doors Open Day at the region’s social de-velopment ministry; – a seminar on emerging risks and patterns of prevention in a changing world of work.

Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk region – a news conference with the region's first deputy governor, Vasily Yurchenko; – the 22d regional student contest on occupa-tional safety and health, the award ceremony for winners of the contest for the best munici-pal district and the best enterprise on occupa-tional safety and health in 2009;

– seminars and a first aid training course on occupational injuries; – an information campaign under the slogan “Safe Work is a Human Right”; – an online conference and consultation ser-vices by safety specialists.

Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk Territory – a contest for the best enterprise on occupa-tional safety and health.

Ramenki, Moscow region – a roundtable meeting on emerging risks and patterns of prevention in a changing world of work.

Republic of Tatarstan – a month’s campaign on occupation safety observance during the sowing period; – the republic’s unified campaign to mark World Day for Safety and Health at Work.

Republic of Dagestan – targeted inspections of enterprises, roundta-ble meetings and seminars, OSH publications in mass media.

Rostov-on-Don, Rostov region – a meeting of the council of the Oktybrsk district chiefs on occupational safety and health.

Continued on Page 8

Events to mark World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2010 Our regular readers can notice that every year the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is marked on a large scale with this year becoming unprecedented. We continue to receive reports on World Day events that took place in different parts of the CIS and Georgia in April and May. This is a short selection of some regional events, but it shows what a great re-sponse the problems of occupational safety and health get in the region.

Continued from Page 7 St Petersburg – contests, exhibitions, roundtable meetings, radio and TV interviews of occupational safety specialists; – a conference on approaches to occupational safety and health; – the 7th annual exhibition on occupational safety and health in North West Russia. Severodvinsk, Arkhangelsk region – a three-day seminar on occupational safety and health. Taganrog, Rostov region – contest “Safe Work is a Human Right” with two nominations - the best OSH spe-cialist and the best enterprise on occupational safety and health. Uglich, Yaroslavl region – occupational safety inspections of work-places, talks on occupational safety and health and labour legislation. Khabarovsk, Khabarovsk Territory – Day for Safety and Health at Work at local enterprises, seminars, conferences, contests for the best enterprise on occupational safety and health, rewards to workers who made progress on occupational safety and health, OSH inspections. Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District – conferences, meetings, exhibitions, re-wards to best workers who showed good practices on occupational safety and health. Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District – a roundtable on labour legislation organ-ized by the labour and social protection de-partment; – OSH Week, a hotline on the issues of la-bour legislation.

AZERBAIJAN – seminars, roundtable meetings under the slogan Trade Unions for Safe Work! – trainings of trade unionists, a month’s cam-paign on occupational safety and health, contests, safety inspections.

Baku – an international seminar on occupational accident insurance; – a tripartite conference on occupational safety and health; – the Confederation of Trade Unions sums up results of the contest for the best enter-prise of the year in creating healthy and safe working conditions, award ceremony; – a countrywide seminar on occupational safety and health.

Mingyachevir, Salyany, Lenkoran – workshops on occupational safety and health. ARMENIA – seminars and roundtable meetings on occu-pational safety and health. KAZAKHSTAN

Astana, Almaty and fourteen regions of the Republic

– roundtable meetings, seminars, contests for the best enterprise on occupational safety and health in every region. KYRGYZSTAN – Doors Open Day at the state labour inspec-tion, including six trainings at big enterprises and interviews of labour inspectors on TV. TAJIKISTAN Dushanbe – a training seminar for labour inspectors and OSH specialists “Pressing issues of occupa-tional safety and health in Tajikistan. The role of labour inspectors and OSH specialists”. UZBEKISTAN Tashkent – seminars at metallurgical, machine-building and aircraft-building enterprises; – a workshop for enterprises from different industries. Bekabad – seminars at metallurgical and machine-building enterprises. Almalyk – seminars for small businesses on occupa-tional safety and health.

Newsletter №2 (41),

Events to mark World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2010

Employment injury benefits (Russian and English)

In the former Soviet republics, more than 12,000 workers die on the job each year. Global estimates by the ILO show that the numbers of occupational accidents are larger than earlier believed.

The figures of work-related fatal and non-fatal accidents in transition countries are greatly underestimated. Accidents at work cause both direct and indirect, as well as hidden costs for the whole society. While many enterprises in developed countries are adopting a zero accident policy as their goal, the enterprises in transition countries are not yet at this

stage, nor are they able to properly identify the hazards causing occupa-tional accidents and diseases.

This publication gives us statistics of occupational accidents in the CIS countries and Georgia, briefly tells about employment injury benefits, types of employment injury benefit schemes in the CIS countries, about ILO Conventions concerning Employ-ment Injury Benefits, C102 Social Security (Minimum Standards) Con-vention, 1952 and C121 Employment Injury Benefits Convention, 1964.

It also describes economic incen-tives for preventive measures, as it is better to prevent now than pay later!

Getting known on the web On the eve of the World Day for Safety

and Health at Work we searched the Inter-net for links on "Всемирный день охраны труда-2010" and found 212,000 links in Russian. After the press release on the World Day was sent out to over 1,500 me-dia contacts in the region, the internet links to the World Day increased by 43,000 links - to 255,000 (!), thanks to the work of hun-dreds of OSH specialists, journalists, civil servants, trade unionist and employers, not to mention ILO staff and the OSH team.

The Internet is an excellent indicator. The web search proved a genuine interest in OSH issues and relevance of the ILO approach to the occupational safety and health.


On April 28, the All-Russian conference to mark the World Day for Safety and Health at Work took place at the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Moscow. This year’s theme of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work is Emerging risks and new patterns of prevention in a changing world of work.

The International Labour Organization estimates that 2.3 million people die each year as a result of work-related accidents and diseases, four per cent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is lost due to acci-dents and work-related diseases.

“Sustainable improvement of working conditions should be based on social partner-

ship in OSH, which is an integral component of the comprehensive and stable occupational safety and health management system,” said Russian Deputy Health and Social Develop-ment Minister Alexander Safonov.

“The International Labour Organization in its report published for the World Day for Safety and Health at Work placed an empha-sis on new risks emerging together with tech-nological innovations, globalization and cri-sis. Special attention is paid to risks that have not emerged yet, but may bring about very serious consequences. These are the so-called emerging risks. The ILO attracts attention of

employers, workers, governments and scientific community to these very risks that are still given insuf-ficient attention,” said ILO Moscow Office senior OSH specialist Wik-ing Husberg.

“A systematic approach to risk management helps to have a broader look at the occupational safety and health. Occupational safety and health is considered a compulsory component that is inte-grated into all spheres of productive activity. Production quality, labour productivity, environmental safety and productive efficiency directly

depend on working conditions of every

worker, on the production safety level and on how this level is maintained and steadily improved,” he said.

Participants in the conference discussed modernization of the legal base on occupa-tional safety and health, the creation of a risk management system and workplace assess-ment.

They focused on stronger social partner-ship in OSH, prevention of occupational acci-dents and diseases, promotion of occupational safety and health at enterprises and health protection and formation of healthy lifestyle.

The conference also discussed labour efficiency and social policy, renovation of the system of social obligations to fully imple-ment the principles of affordability and qual-ity of social services.

Taking part in the conference were heads of federal bodies of executive and legislative power, state supervisory structures, represen-tatives of employers’ and workers’ associa-tions, national and regional non-governmental institutions, research institutes and industrial enterprises as well as OSH specialists.■

Source: press service of the Russian Health and Social Development Ministry.

28 April - World Day for Safety and Health at Work Emerging risks and new patters of prevention in a changing world of work

All-Russian conference on occupational safety and health

Baku hosts international seminar on occupational accident insurance

On April 28-29, Baku hosted an interna-tional technical seminar on Accident Insur-ance: History of Development, Reforms and Current Challenges.

The event was organized by the Interna-tional Social Security Association (ISSA), the State Social Protection Fund of Azerbai-jan and the German Social Accident Insur-ance.

Among attendees were experts of the International Labour Organization, the Asso-ciation of International Pension and Social Funds, the World Bank and social insurance specialists from Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Germany and other European countries.

The ILO was represented by Mariko Ouchi, Senior Social Security Specialist.

At present, Azerbaijan’s process of building an occupational accident insurance system is in its initial stage, the head of the

State Social Protection Fund of Azerbaijan, Salim Muslimov, said in his opening re-marks.

“This is an absolutely new sector for Azerbaijan, therefore we together with the ISSA decided to hold such a seminar that will help us to exchange experience with foreign specialists,” he said.

Muslimov stressed importance of a draft law on compulsory occupational accident and disease insurance adopted by Azerbai-jan’s parliament in two readings.

Azerbaijan can become the first and the only country on the European space, where the compulsory accident insurance system will be applied by private structures, said Dr Joachim Breuer, Managing Director of the German Social Accident Insurance (DGUV).

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Labour and Social Protection Minister Natiq Mamedov said the

adoption of the draft law will contribute to the development of the labour protection system in the country. Over the past three years 45,746 labour contracts were con-cluded, while the number of occupational accidents shrank by almost two-fold.

“The social policy pursued by the coun-try’s authorities is aimed at protecting worker’s health and improving his/her living standards irrespective of workplace,” he said. In compliance with the ILO Conventions and relying on Europe’s experience Azerbaijan made certain amendments and addenda to the Labour Code.

Participants also discussed international accident insurance experience, the impact of demographic trends on accident insurance and insurance in energy, textiles and copper industry.■ Source: www.trend.az, www.azeri.ru


Vologda region: Through social partnership to safe work

Russia’s Vologda region is an active partner of ILO Project on Improving OSH System in North-West Russia. The region prepared its profile of occupational safety and health and is drafting the OSH pro-gramme. Several enterprises of the region in close cooperation with the ILO actively in-troduce modern OSH management systems.

On May 12, Vologda hosted a regional conference on the role of social partnership in effective management of occupational safety and health in a changing world of work. It was devoted to the World Day for Safety and Health at Work marked on April 28. The event was organized by the Vologda region labour and social development depart-ment, the regional public organization of the Vologda region’s Trade Union Federation and the Union of Industrialists and Entrepre-neurs.

Regional OSH coordinator of the ILO Moscow Office, Roman Litvyakov, in his report underlined the role of social partnership in creating and ensuring safe working condi-tions in a changing world of work. New and emerging risks that were created by techno-logical advances and changing working condi-tions and were considerably aggravated by the economic and financial crisis require thorough attention of all parties of social partnership.

“Maximum possible involve-ment of workers into the processes of management of occupational risks, including new ones, guaran-tees success,” he said. “At present, the role of the social dialogue, effective work of OSH committees and occupational safety represen-tatives along with new risk detec-tion and management tools at en-terprises are of para-mount importance. Only joint efforts of all social partners within the framework of effec-

tive OSH management systems, the development of OSH culture at every enterprise and in the society in general can help to achieve the ultimate goal of re-ducing occupation accidents to zero.”

ILO North-West Russia Pro-ject Coordinator Marat Rudakov reported on practical experience and prospects of the ILO project.

The theme of social partnership was not chosen accidentally. This term has already been known in Russia and social partnership institutions have been regulated by the legis-lation. However, the issue of increasing effi-ciency of such institutions is very timely, especially amid the global economic crisis that affects working conditions at many enterprises. In compliance with the Guidelines on occupa-tional safety and health manage-ment systems, ILO-OSH 2001 and the relevant interstate stan-dard GOST 12.0.230-2007 work-ers should take part in occupa-tional safety management, risk assessment and accident preven-tion planning activities.

The ILO Moscow Office drafted a spe-cial training course on social partnership for occupational safety and health at enterprises. The course was developed within the framework of the Project on Im-proving OSH System in North-West Russia and is based on ad-vanced international experience in this issue.

After the conference ILO experts conducted a two-day training for representatives of pilot enterprises, trade unionists

and specialists of the labour and social devel-opment department. They also visited one of Vologda’s pilot enterprises, where trainees were able to test modern workplace monitor-ing tools (Finland’s workplace inspection system ELMERI).

Trainees said they would apply modern methods and approaches to develop social partnership in the occupational safety and health at enterprises.

This autumn the ILO North-West Russia Project will launch a training of trainers on OSH in the region. This would help to pro-mote advanced knowledge on occupational safety and health among senior officials of the region’s enterprises and to introduce risk assessment and management methods and effective social partnership mechanisms.■

New name of ILO Office

In April the ILO Subregional Office was designated as the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.■


ILO Moscow started up cooperation with Uzbekistan in the end of 1990s. The first steps were to analyse the situation, assess the need for the Russian language OSH informa-tion and basic information on modern OSH systems.

The Uzbek OSH centre used the ILO materials and developed modular courses on all basic OSH issues for several sectors, such as agriculture, bakery, textile, etc. In the middle of 2000s the attention focused on the introduction of modern OSH management systems at model enterprises. Model training for the OSH management system (ILO-OSH 2001), risk assessment were updated, while labour inspectors and safety representatives were retrained.

In cooperation with Uzbek partners the

project organised seminars in all industrial-ised regions of Uzbekistan and for the major industrial sectors. The response from enter-prises was overwhelming, more and more courses were requested. As the project hu-man resources are limited and cannot cover every enterprise in the country, a four level response was developed to cope with the demand for training to improve the OSH system at enterprises.

This approach includes four steps. First, these are general awareness raising informa-tive training seminars. They are aimed at mixed audiences, where the basic informa-tion of OSH, hazards, risks, priority of pre-vention as a part of the systematic approach is presented.

Second, these are introductory work-shops for one specific industry. These educa-tional seminars of methodical nature cover all OSH-related priorities of the ILO and provide written information for participants to be able to familiarise themselves with the systematic approach and various OSH con-cepts.

The third step includes training seminars at specifically selected large enterprises, in industries, where introductory workshops have been held. They include specific discus-sions of the ILO-OSH 2001 (OSH manage-ment systems), the creation of safety com-mittees and the concept of hazards, risks and

priority setting. At this stage enterprises are expected to start introducing OSH manage-ment systems and set up risk assessment groups.

The fourth step stipulates consultative workshops (hands-on training) in individual companies, where introductory and training seminars had been held. They include walk-through reviews in selected factory depart-ments, discussions with members of organ-ized safety committees and with members of risk assessment groups.

Several regions and industrial sectors have passed training seminars. Around 1,000 experts attended these OSH courses; their enterprises cover over a quarter of a million workers. Almost ten enterprises and sectors are preparing for the hands-on training in autumn for practical introduction of OSH management systems.

The impact of the Uzbek approach has encouraged Tajikistan to invite experts from the ILO and Uzbekistan to present the con-cept in the Tajik OSH training. Tajikistan has included modernisation of its OSH system and labour inspection in the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) for 2010-2013.

The Uzbek OSH project is using exten-sive experience from Finland and South Ko-rea, and is sponsored by both countries.■

On April 21-22, ILO Moscow Office experts Sandra Vermuijten and Natalia Hof-mann visited Saratov to study the labour migration situation and observance of labour migrants’ rights in the region.

One of the important aspects of the Mi-gration project in the Russian Federation is information dissemination among migrants. To that effect a mapping of resource centers in Russia was undertaken which covers Mos-cow, St Petersburg and other big cities such as Samara, Saratov, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, said ILO Project Chief Technical Advisor Sandra Vermujten.

“After discussions with all of our part-

ners we concluded that it would not be op-portune or sustainable to create new resource centers for migrant workers. Instead we have opted for supporting existing centres that operate in a responsive manner and are in need of extra support. As a result, the project bought equipment for non-commercial part-nership “Labour Migration” International Alliance, the Professional Union of Migrant Workers Employed in Construction, Munici-pal Facilities and Related Sectors, and the Saratovskiy Istochnik centre to support mi-grants. Training for the staff of the centers is foreseen,” she said.

Within the framework of the visit a roundtable meeting devoted to labour migra-

tion problems in the Saratov region took place.

Taking part in the event were representa-tives of he labour ministry, the federal migra-tion service, law enforcement agencies, trade unions, employers and NGOs.

Participants in the event pointed out that it is important to call on labour migrants for more thorough observance of the labour legislation, commonly recognized rules and requirements of the region, where they come to work. Non-governmental organizations, government and law enforcement agencies should pay special attention to raising for-eign workers’ awareness of laws.■

Enterprise response leads to new OSH methodology in Uzbekistan ILO has been running a long-term occupational safety and health (OSH) project in Uzbekistan. A multitude of OSH seminars, translated and adapted OSH information, several modular courses on OSH and a systematic develop-ment of an interactive training system has raised the interest among enterprises to an unprecedented level. The project is moving from OSH awareness raising to practical hands-on introduction of modern OSH management systems at selected enterprises and industrial sectors. Senior OSH Specialist of the ILO Moscow Office Wiking HUSBERG gives a brief review of the project and a four-level OSH approach.

Labour migration in Saratov region: problems and prospects for their solution


KALUGA, June 2-3 – The workshop organized by the ILO and UNAIDS brought together delegates from sixteen Russian re-gions – representatives of the government, trade unions, employers’ organizations and experts of regional AIDS centers. Moreover, among attendees were members of the ILO Expert Group on HIV/AIDS and the World of Work – representatives of the Ministry of Health and Social Development, Russia’s Federal Service for Surveillance on Con-sumer Rights’ Protection and Human Well-Being Rospotrebnadzor, the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepre-neurs. The workshop’s title defines its agenda and focus - the role of social partner-ship in HIV prevention among working population and experience of the project “Reducing stigma and discrimination in the workplace and promoting tolerance through HIV/AIDS awareness campaign”.

Yuri Kondratyev, Minister of Health of the Kaluga region, opened the event and stressed the importance of prevention of HIV and other socially significant diseases at the regional level and in the country as a whole.

Although the Kaluga region registers a rather low level of the HIV spread, the problem of prevention remains quite acute. He noted that there were many big foreign enterprises and plants in the region that attracted specialists from European countries such as Germany and France as well as labour migrants from Central Asian countries.

Larisa Dementyeva, Deputy Head of Rospotrebnadzor’s HIV/AIDS Surveillance Unit, also highlighted importance of preven-tive efforts. She noted that most new cases of the HIV infection accounted for people aged between 30-40 years. In this respect the role of the ILO and social partners as well as their HIV prevention programmes in the work-place is extremely important.

Participants of the workshop had the opportunity to study experience of the ILO’s HIV/AIDS workplace prevention programs in various Russian regions. The report pre-pared by the Kaluga regional AIDS centre evoked huge interest among the audience. It proposed a concrete strategy of joint actions of social partners under the guidance of the AIDS centre, that proved itself effective of late.

Reports made by members of the Na-tional Priority Project “Health” – Novosi-birsk Aircraft Manufacturing Enterprise named after Chkalov and the Barnaul Ma-chine-Tool Plant – also attracted high atten-tion. Tatyana Grechanaya, Director of GBC-Moscow Knowledge, Evaluation and Per-formance Department, presented a report on the experience of “HEALTH @T WORK” programme successfully implemented by the Global Business Coalition in several Russian regions.

Live discussions during the event and on

the sidelines focused on how to engage so-cial partners in HIV prevention in the work-place, how to ensure projects and initiatives’ sustainability and how to keep effective ac-cumulated experience and methodology. At present, the programmes of HIV workplace prevention accrued huge experience and knowledge, but at the governmental level they face serious obstacles both objective (such as the financial and economic crisis, reduction of expenses on prevention activi-ties, etc.) and subjective (decision-makers’ attitude towards HIV and stigmatization and discrimination of HIV-positive people, etc.). In this situation exchange of positive and negative experience and joint search for deci-sions as that in Kaluga becomes very timely.

Core ideas and recommendations of the workshop’s participants were included into a joint resolution that will be submitted to the Tripartite Commission for the Regulation of Social and Labour Relations for consideration.■

Seminar in Kaluga focuses on HIV prevention at workplace: summarizing experience and planning further steps

On March 29, Baku hosted a workshop on forced labour and trafficking in human beings for representatives of tourist agencies, mainly private ones, and Azerbaijan’s Minis-try of Culture and Tourism. The event was co-organized by the ILO Moscow Office and the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Azerbaijan at the request of the Interior Ministry’s anti-trafficking unit and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. The OSCE Mission to Azerbaijan also took part in the event with specifically designed presentations.

ILO Chief Technical Advisor, Anti-

Trafficking Project Caucasus, Zsolt Dudas said the workshop’s objective was to intro-duce models of regulation, self-regulation and codes of conducts in particular in rela-tion to the tourist sector in Azerbaijan.

The workshop produced a very interac-tive and lively discussion on the role of tour-ist agencies in identification, referral and prevention in individual cases. It also fo-cused on how the tourist sector can move forward to institutionally prevent forced labour and trafficking in human beings.

Experts cited as examples the Ethical

Trading Initiative (ETK) from the UK, CIETT Code of Conduct (International Con-federation of Private Employment Agencies), GAP labour contracts and the Guiding Prin-ciples for Employers from the relevant hand-book of the ILO Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL).

The Ministry of Tourism, the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) of Azerbaijan and tourist agencies agreed to meet in the near future to discuss the adop-tion of a sectoral code regulating their activi-ties in this field.■

Workshop on forced labour and trafficking for tourist agencies in Azerbaijan

The chairman of the trade union of the Chka-lov Novosibirsk Aircraft Manufacturing Enterprise, Viktor Raim, speaking at the conference

Yuri Kondratyev and Elena Dementyeva unveiled the conference


ILO Moscow Office and Plekhanov State Economic Academy seek to boost cooperation

On May 18, the ILO Office and the Plekha-nov Russian Academy of Economics signed a Collaboration Arrangement. The Director of the ILO Subregional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Martina Lybyova, and Acad-emy Rector Viktor Grishin put their signatures to the document.

The parties acknowledge that the Coopera-tion Programme between the ILO and the Russian Federation for 2010-2012 stems, on the one hand, from Russia’s strategic priori-

ties and social and economic development programmes, in the implementation of which the Russian government and Russian employ-ers’ and workers’ organizations have an equal stake, and on the other hand, the strategic idea of decent work of the ILO.

The parties expressed their readiness to further promote fundamental principles and rights at work enshrined in the ILO docu-ments and reflected in Russia’s national legis-lation.

The parties agreed to develop cooperation aimed at the improvement of training and retraining taking into consideration practical approaches of the ILO programmes in promo-tion of decent work, improvement of labour legislation, active employment policy, wage system and OSH policy, further development of labour relations regulation through the collective bargaining process and a system of the state social standards aimed at poverty reduction.

They will also jointly organize special trainings, conferences and seminars, develop methodic materials on the ILO directions of work and international labour standards and promote study tours on international labour standards and technical cooperation.■

ILO International Labour Standards Department and Kutafin Moscow State Law Academy to step up relations

On May 21, a Memorandum of Coopera-tion was signed between the ILO Interna-tional Labour Standards Department and Russia’s leading scientific centre for legal science - the Kutafin Moscow State Law Academy - by Department Director Cleo-patra Doumbia-Henry and Academy Rector Viktor Blazheyev.

The parties undertook to work together to promote knowledge, understanding and visi-bility of international labour standards in the Russian Federation and the CIS countries to make best efforts to enable the Academy to participate in the Internship Programme of the Standards Department.

They will also conduct joint research in areas of common interest and organize joint activities to promote international labour standards in Russia for judges, lawyers and legal educations.■

ILO signs Memorandums of Cooperation with Russia’s leading educational institutions

Russia preparing to ratify ILO Maritime Labour Convention

On May 24, Russia’s Deputy Health and Social Development Minister Alexander Safonov held talks with the Director of the ILO International Labour Standards Depart-ment, Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry.

The talks focused on the preparation for Russia’s ratification of the ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.

Taking part in the meeting were also representatives of the Russian Transport Ministry, trade unions and employ-ers’ (shipowners) associations. They ex-changed opinions on what efforts should be taken to ratify the Convention.

“The Russian Federation actively cooper-ates with the International Labour Office in preparation for ratifying the ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006,” Safonov said. “The implementation of the Convention will undoubtedly require innovations in the sector of Russia’s social and labour relations. Dur-ing 2010 Russia plans to create a normative

and legal base on merchant shipping.” The deputy minister noted that a package

of documents for the Convention’s ratifica-tion is planned to be submitted to the govern-ment already by late 2010.

Safonov also briefed Doumbia-Henry on the country’s efforts towards ratification of other ILO Conventions.

In particular, he said the government has already submitted to the State Duma’s con-sideration the draft laws on ratification of such conventions as C132 Holidays with Pay Convention, C135 Workers’ Representatives Convention and C154 Collective Bargaining Convention.

It is worth noting that last February Rus-sia ratified the Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No. 185).■

Source: www.minzdravsoc.ru

ILO’s new area of work focuses on signing Cooperation Agreements with Russia’s leading higher education institu-tions. These agreements aim to harmonize further the national standards with international standards on social and labour issues as well as to improve the level of vocational training and retraining of civil servants taking into account international experience in social and labour policies.

The ILO Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, was adopted at the 94th session of the International Labour Conference on February 23, 2006. It consolidates and updates around 70 ILO Conventions and Recommendations related to seafarers.

The new labour standard sets minimal regulations on practically all aspects of seafarers’ work and rest, conditions of employment, including training and quali-fications, food and catering, medical care on board ship and ashore, repatriation, social protection and access to shore-based welfare facilities.

At present, the Convention was ratified by nine countries – the Bahamas, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Libe-ria, the Marshall Islands, Norway, Pa-nama and Spain.

Russia set up the intergovernmental commission on preparation for the Con-vention’s ratification.


We continue to brief our readers on the evaluation reports on ILO’s projects. This time the ILO Moscow Office Evaluation Union analyzed ILO and UNDP’s joint project on Community development through employment creation and improved migration management

in Tajikistan conducted in 2007-2009.

Despite the considerable chal-lenges posed by the scale of the prob-lem to be addressed, the limited time frame and funding, the low capacity of implementation partners, and the deteriorating economic environment, the project was implemented success-fully. Among the main successes the establishment and strengthening of close working relationships with so-cial partners, especially in the Gov-ernment and trade unions, and the more or less timely and complete provision of outputs and activities as planned stand out as particular achievements.

The overall goal of the project was to increase the level of human security of peo-ple from the Rasht region of Tajikistan, in particular socio-economic and personal secu-

rity of people on the move and of women that are left without income.

Clearly the real tangible change in the lives of 50,000 people in the communities that benefited from improvements of their communal infrastructure should not be un-derestimated. Likewise, the opportunities gained by the 750 recipients of micro-loans and the hundreds of participants in trainings are indeed significant.

The idea of bringing together the highly specialized technical expertise of ILO with the strongly established implementation ca-pacity and field presence of UNDP, as well as the experience of IOM with labour migra-tion in Tajikistan is excellent.

All advantages of the project and lessons learnt will be taken into account while the ILO launches other projects in Tajikistan and other countries of the subregion.■

ILO supports migrant resource centres in Moscow

Migration figures are increasing, with the Moscow area being the top destination for labour migrants. Migrants often face diffi-culties with regard to finding and maintain-ing employment, insufficient working and living conditions as well as labour exploita-tion. An important factor that leads to this situation is that many migrants fail to make use, protect and even be aware of their rights, especially when they are staying in Russia on an irregular basis.

As one of the measures to tackle these issues ILO supports two migrant resource centres in Moscow providing counseling services and office equipment. The migrant resource centres try to support labour mi-grants mainly by providing legal aid and counseling. One of the goals is to raise mi-grants’ awareness of how their human and labour rights should be protected.

One centre was established by the Kyr-gyz government, and works mainly with Kyrgyz migrants, another one – by a non-governmental organization and works mainly with Tajik migrants (although nationality is not a criterion for access). Although their efforts are aimed at providing legal protec-tion and access to social services as well as counseling on employment and residence-related matters to individual migrant work-ers, migrant resource centres through coop-eration with policy-makers, law-enforcement agencies and the media are committed to build capacity for research and policy mak-ing and to facilitate networking between organizations and enterprises dealing with labour migration.

For three months more than 3,300 mi-grants have received assistance, information and counseling, mainly on job-seeking, em-ployment and residence in Russia as well as on issues concerning unpaid wages, infringe-ments upon their rights and social-legal and medical assistance.

The Kyrgyz centre installed computers and visitors can use the Internet free of charge. Additionally, it created an informa-tion hotline and developed booklets that contain information on Russian legislation and international agreements concerning arrival, stay and departure of labour migrants as well as their recruitment by Russian em-ployers. The Kyrgyz centre also set up an

SMS service that informs migrants about new vacancies and installed a data base with vacancies for foreign workers and profiles of labour migrants for employers. It also pro-vides an application training.

Not only labour migrants but also em-ployers seek advice in migrant resource cen-tres that closely cooperate with trade unions and private companies, as well as govern-mental structures and representations of the countries of destination. A joint vocational training programme was developed in col-laboration with the Russian Construction Trade Union. Migrant workers who con-sulted the migrant resource centres were employed in gastronomy, the cleaning and construction sectors.

The activity has been conducted in the framework of the ILO-EU project to promote the effective governance of labour migration in CIS countries.

The Chief Technical Adviser, Nilim Ba-ruah, pointed out that migrant workers have directly benefited from the work of the cen-tres in the times of the economic crisis in the form of legal assistance on issues such as payment of due wages as well as job place-ments. He mentioned that both centres are very good examples of how on-site support can be provided to migrant workers in the destination countries. ■

ILO Office evaluates its project in Tajikistan


A training manual on combating traffick-ing in humans for law enforcement agencies in Armenia, developed with support of the OSCE, ILO and UNDP was presented in Yerevan on May 26 to respective state, non-governmental and international agencies.

The manual prepared by national experts will be used for training of all law enforce-ment practitioners in the anti-trafficking sector, including prosecutors, police, judges, border guards and labour inspectors. It will also serve as a reference material for law school teachers and instructors. The develop-ment of the training manual was supported by the OSCE-ILO-ICMPD regional project on “Developing the comprehensive anti-trafficking response in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia,” funded by the EU and the UNDP Anti-Trafficking Project funded by the Government of Norway.

Emil Babayan, Deputy Minister of Jus-tice of the Republic of Armenia and Colonel Nazaret Mnatsakanyan, Deputy Head of the RA Police General Department for Combat-ing Organized Crime opened the event and stressed the importance of strengthening the

capacity of the national stakeholders to com-bat trafficking in humans.

“We prioritize a more coordinated and sustainable training for the Armenian law enforcement agencies to effectively imple-

ment the adequate anti-trafficking legislation that the country has recently put in place. For this purpose we contributed to the develop-ment of a locally-owned and managed train-ing programme that will serve the needs of all Armenian Law Enforcement entities re-

sponsible for the prevention and prosecution of human trafficking and the protection of victims”, said Carel Hofstra, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

The UNDP Armenia Representative Alla Bakunts noted: “This nationally owned train-ing manual is a living document and we hope that in the course of time it will be enriched with the inputs and contributions from the practitioners, and will be updated and ad-justed appropriately in order to reflect newly emerging needs and requirements of the au-dience.”

“This Manual will contribute to ensuring protection and decent work for many labour migrants who are faced with risks of exploi-tation and trafficking. It is also an important step to fulfill Armenia’s obligations under international conventions ratified by the Re-public of Armenia”, Nver Sargsyan, ILO Regional Anti-Trafficking Project Officer for Armenia stated.

The presentation of the Manual was fol-lowed by a discussion on further practical steps to ensure sustainable fight against hu-man trafficking.■

New anti-trafficking training manual for law enforcement agencies in Armenia launched with OSCE, ILO and UNDP support

Our publications

UNDP Armenia Representative Alla Bakunts and Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Yere-van Carel Hofstra at presentation

Cooperative sector in Kyrgyzstan. Analytical report (in Russian)

The ILO study “The Role of Cooperatives in Poverty Reduction and Employment Growth” is very timely for Kyrgyzstan. The main task of the study is to renovate the previous study conducted by the ILO in 2004. A new ver-sion of the study includes analytical information and facts on the development of cooperative movement in Kyrgyzstan in modern times and on the government’s policy toward cooperatives.

It also reviews the norma-tive and legal base of coop-

eratives and their role in employment promotion as a result of poverty re-duction and characterizes the effective programs and projects of agricultural cooperatives.

The study reflects different assistance measures for cooperative in eco-nomic, social and public sectors as well as the role of employers, workers and cooperative movement in Kyrgyzstan and its cooperation with coopera-tives in the CIS.

WIND Programme Manual on occu-pational safety and health for farmers in South-ern Kazakhstan Region (in Russian and Kazakh)

WIND Programme Manual (Work Im-provement in Neighbourhood Devel-opment) on occupa-tional safety and health in the agricultural sector gives practical answers to concrete OSH prob-lems in this sector.

The Manual is based on the experience of the

Kyrgyz Republic and mainly on the effective and certified schemes of the WIND Programme.

The Manual is developed for employers and workers of agri-cultural enterprises and farms, including cotton-growing and cot-ton-cleaning industries.


GENEVA (ILO News) – As the football World Cup in South Africa kicks off, the International Labour Organization (ILO) is to mark the World Day Against Child La-bour with an urgent appeal to “go for the goal – end child labour,” calling particular

attention to the target of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016.

“While billions are caught up in the ex-citement of the football World Cup, some 215 million children are labouring for sur-vival. Education and play are luxuries for them. Progress towards ending child labour is slowing down and we are not on course to end its worst forms by 2016. We have to get the momentum going again. Let us draw inspiration from the World Cup and rise to the challenge with the energy, the right strat-egy and the commitment it takes to get to the goal”, said ILO Director-General Juan Somavia.

In Geneva on June 11 the International Labour Conference discussed the ILO’s new Global Report on child labour entitled “Accelerating action against child labour”. That same day, to mark the World Day hun-dreds of local school children participated in a “Children’s solidarity event” at the Place des Nations organized by the “Le Respect, ca change la Vie” community association, in cooperation with the ILO. Children and local civic leaders gathered around a football goal to “go for the goal against child labour” and showed the “Red card against child labour”.

The World Day comes one month after more than 450 delegates from 80 countries met at a Conference in The Hague convened by the Government of the Netherlands to agree on a Roadmap to accelerate progress to reach the goal of eliminating the worst forms of child labour by 2016. The Roadmap sets out a number of guiding principles and iden-tifies action to be taken by governments, social partners (workers and employers), civil society, non-governmental and other civil society, regional and international or-ganizations..

Agreement on the Roadmap came as the ILO’s third Global Report on child labour warned that the global campaign against child labour is at a critical juncture. The Re-port shows that global efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour are losing mo-mentum, and warns that unless they are sig-nificantly stepped up the 2016 target will not be reached.

This target was set in 2006 after positive trends contained in the previous Global Re-port suggested that the elimination of the worst forms of child labour was possible by 2016.■

June 12 - World Day against Child Labour Go for the Goal: End Child Labour

On April 9, the Leningrad region’s social protection committee hosted a seminar on the elimination of the worst forms of child la-bour, violence and cruel treatment of chil-dren.

The seminar was organized by the Lenin-grad region’s social protection committee in cooperation with the ILO Subregional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia and St. Petersburg Social and Economic Institute.

Among participants were the children’s ombudsman under the Leningrad region governor, representatives of the St. Peters-burg and Leningrad region internal affairs department, the committee for general and vocational education, and top officials and specialists of municipalities and social pro-tection and educational institutions.

Participants in the event studied the re-sults of the survey on child labour in the Leningrad region conducted by the ILO Subregional Office and the faculty of sociol-ogy of the St. Petersburg State University. They highlighted that forced child labour,

involvement of children in hazardous and criminal activities and labour that can endan-

ger the child’s physical, mental or moral well-being are inadmissible.

They underlined that for the eradication of child labour it is necessary not only to fight illegal child employment, but also to promote social work with families, help par-ents to find jobs and expand opportunities for legal employment of adolescents through employment services. They stressed the need to introduce such innovative social technolo-gies as street social services and family sup-port groups and to implement special pro-grammes for social adaptation of street chil-dren.

The events on the elimination of child labour will be included in the target pro-gramme entitled Children of the Leningrad Region for 2011-2013 that is being devel-oped by the Leningrad region’s social protec-tion committee and other social sector com-mittees.■

Source: www.47news.ru

Leningrad region takes efforts to end child labour


Continued from Page 1 All of this will enable us to mitigate the

effects of the global financial crisis at the inter-national and national levels, with the ILO as a valuable forum for international cooperation.

Mikhail SHMAKOV, Chair, Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia: — The greatest threat for workers all over the world today is business policy for crisis recovery that can seriously distort labour rela-tions and undo the achievements of recent decades in respect of in-creasing protection for hired workers.

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia is currently launching a minimum wage by law campaign, which aims to prevent attempts by employers to include sums relating to compensation or incentives in the minimum wage when calculating the monthly wage packets.

The ideology of tripartism, promulgated

by the ILO, continues to play an important role in relations between social partners. An example of this is the anti-crisis plan of the Government of the Russian Federation, which includes many proposals made by unions, thus balancing out some of the more negative effects of the crisis on the workers. Botyr ALIMUKHAMEDOV, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Uzbekistan: — In the Director-General’s Report, Re-covery and growth with decent work, the fo-cus is on job creation: sustainable and bal-anced growth with strong job creation is the only sensible way ahead, a global economic priority, the starting point in securing recov-ery and ensuring that it is job-rich. The inclu-sion of Uzbekistan in the Report of the Direc-tor-General among the countries that have achieved a positive GDP growth rate and low unemployment amounts to recognition of the fact that the measures taken by the Government

to maintain and increase employment are con-sistent with the ILO’s strategic objectives. Irakli PETRIASHVILI, Chair, Trade Union Confederation, Georgia: — The establishment of a tripartite social partnership commission (the commission established by social partners - Georgian Trade Union Confederation, Georgian Em-ployers Association, and the Georgian Gov-ernment) can be considered the only positive point of the past four years. We regard it as a success when dialogue and general relations with the Government and employers bring positive changes to the lives of our members.

It will be impossible for Georgia, and the world as a whole, to find a way out of the crisis unless the Government shares the re-sponsibility with all concerned social groups and ensures their full participation in deci-sion-making and in the elaboration of reforms and laws, which calls for real social dialogue to protect the rights of every individual. ■

Extracts from delegates’ statements at plenary sessions of International Labour Conference

On June 14, the ILO and the Republic of Kazakhstan signed on the sidelines of the 99th session of the International Labour Confer-ence in Geneva a new Decent Work Country Programme for 2010-2012.

Signatures under the document were put by Kazakhstan’s Labour and Social Protection Minister Gulshara Abdykalikova, Trade Union Federation Chairman Siyazbek Mukashev and Em-ployers’ Confederation Presi-dent Kadyr Baykenov as well as by the ILO Regional Direc-tor for Europe and Central Asia, Susanne Hoffmann, and the Director of the ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Mar-tina Lubyova.

“While drafting a new three-year Decent Work Country Programme we were mainly guided by the UN Millennium Development Goals and the ILO Global Jobs Pact,” Gulshara Abdykalikova said at the sign-ing ceremony adding that the Programme was also based on Kazakhstan’s development strategies for 2020 and for 2030 as well as on the Ministerial Declaration adopted at the UN Conference in Almaty last December.

She also noted that Kazakhstan drafted a roadmap to fight the global financial crisis. As a result the republic’s unemployment reduced from 6.9 percent to 6.3 percent in 2009. This year 200,000 new jobs will be created within the framework of the roadmap

and another 200,000 – within the framework of the industrial and innovative policy to be launched in 2010.

“The new Decent Work Country Pro-gramme that we drafted together with our partners includes - first, regulation of labour relations in conformity with international standards, second, productive employment, and third, the strengthening of social partner-

ship. I believe this would give a fresh impetus to resolving the existing problems for the good of our population,” the minister said.

“This new Decent Work Country Pro-gramme is certainly most important in the light of and against the background of Presi-

dent Nazarbayev’s ambitious goals for Kazakhstan to join the fifty most competitive global economies by 2020 and the top twenty countries with the most favourable business climate. However, competitiveness can only then be sustainable if it is joined by social stability and if this stability is based on automatic stabilizers like effective em-ployment and social policy,” said Susanne Hoffmann.

“The implementation of the new Decent Work Coun-

try Programme has already started, because there has already been cooperation between the ILO and Kazakhstan on the amendment of the Labour Code, on occupational safety and health and on the principles of corporate social responsibility,” Susanne Hoffmann said wishing Kazakhstan success in the Pro-gramme’s implementation.■

ILO and Kazakhstan sign new Decent Work Country Programme


Our publications

All publications in this section have been prepared within the framework of the ILO-EU Project "Towards Sustainable Partnerships for the Effective Governance of Labour Migration in the Russian Federation, the Caucasus and Central Asia" . All publications of the ILO Moscow Office can be found at our website www.ilo.ru

Handbook for Armenians abroad (in Armenian and English)

On April 29, the Handbook for Armeni-ans Abroad was launched in Yerevan. The Handbook was developed within the frame-work of the ILO-EU project and with the support of the ILO/Department for Interna-tional Development (UK).

The Handbook was developed for Arme-nians living abroad, said Nilim Baruah, the ILO Project’s Chief Technical Advisor. It will help them easily facilitate interaction with their country of origin and contribute to the development of their Homeland.

Diaspora Minister, Ms. Hranoush Ha-kobyan, said in turn the Handbook aims to create an information base that will allow Armenians living abroad to get more knowl-edge about their country and necessary infor-mation on Armenia’s legislation.

“There are many Armenians who would like to return to Armenia and first of all they want to study Armenia’s legislation as they should live and work in compliance with the laws,” she said.

Both the Armenian Diaspora that is esti-mated at about 10 million and the Armenian authorities acknowledge that exchanges be-tween the Diaspora and Armenians living in Armenia can be a powerful tool for social transformation and that they can positively contribute to Armenia’s development.

The launch was attended by around a hundred representatives from government, embassies, international organizations, Dias-pora organizations, trade unions and media. Source: www.news.rusrek.com

Labour Migration and Productive Utilization of Human Resources Kyrgyz Republic (in Russian and English)

The purpose of the study is to contribute to the productive utiliza-tion of human resources in the Kyrgyz Republic and in the region by making an analysis and recommendations to-wards improving the quality of education/train-ing and portability of qualifications of mid-dle and lower skilled Kyrgyz workers, in oc-cupations in demand in CIS countries and where there is surplus within the country.

The productive utili-zation of human re-sources entails better jobs for Kyrgyz workers as well as better trained workers for employers and the economy in the country and in the region. The research has included a survey of employers in Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, a survey of Kyrgyz labour migrants in Rus-sia and Kazakhstan, and a survey of potential labour migrants in Kyr-gyzstan. The surveys were conducted in June-August 2008.

Migrant remittances to Tajikistan. The potential for sav-ings, investment and existing financial products to attract remittances. (in Russian and English)

Tajikistan has high rates of emigration. Remittances play a vital role in the eco-nomic wellbeing of the population; about 89 per-cent of emigrants regularly send remittances to their relatives and households in Tajikistan.

Various estimates show that there is still big poten-tial for unused savings to

be attracted to the financial system. According to the National Bank estimates, about 2.67 billion US dol-

lars were remitted to Tajikistan by emigrants in 2008. In the beginning of 2009, the ILO initiated a study which included a

survey of 1,267 households that currently have a family member living and working abroad, and a survey on financial products to attract savings and economic investments from migrants. The final goal of the study was to come up with recommendations and new mechanisms for integrating remittances into the economic development in the country.

■ Georgian Minister of Labour, Healthcare and Social Affairs visits Ireland to study social dialogue system

Georgian Minister of Labour, Healthcare and Social Affairs, Alexandre Kvitashvili, visited Dublin on April 12-16. The visit

was aimed at promoting social dialogue in Georgia and studying Ireland’s thirty-year-long experience of social dialogue. The visit was organized by the International Labour Organization. During the visit the minister was accompanied by the President of the Georgian Employer's Association, Elguja Meladze, the President of the Georgian Trades Union Confederation, Irakli Petriash-vili, and ILO expert Roger Lecourt. Source: www.trend.az ■ Russia’s parliament ratifies ILO Conventions

On June 23, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, Federation Council, ratified three ILO Con-ventions. In particular, this con-

cerns Holidays with Pay Convention C132 (Revised 1970). The Convention protects the fundamental rights of citizens to an annual paid holiday for no less than three weeks. Under the Convention the length of any such qualifying period shall be determined by the competent authority or through the appropri-ate machinery in the country concerned but shall not exceed six months. On this list are also ILO Convention Concerning the Promo-tion of Collective Bargaining C154 (1981) and ILO Workers’ Representatives Conven-tion C135 (1971). Under Convention 135, workers’ representatives in the undertaking shall enjoy effective protection against any act prejudicial to them. Such facilities in the un-dertaking shall be afforded to workers’ repre-sentatives as may be appropriate in order to enable them to carry out their functions promptly and efficiently. The granting of such facilities shall not impair the efficient opera-tion of the undertaking concerned. ■ ILO expert conducts research on youth employment in Azerbaijan

Within the framework of the project on youth employment, ILO consultant Marina Baskakova had a mission to

Azerbaijan on April 18-30. She carried out a

research to prepare a National Report on “Transition from school to decent work in Azerbaijan: men and women”. The consult-ant had meetings with social partners in Baku and Ismayilly. Focus groups were held with employed and unemployed young women and men in Baku and Ismayilly and Lahij.

■ Seminar on occupational safety and health in Arkhangelsk region

On April 21-23, a seminar on occupational safety and health was held in Severodvinsk, Rus-sia’s Arkhangelsk region. Tak-

ing part in the event were representatives of the Arkhangelsk region labour and employ-ment agency, municipalities, the Social In-surance Fund’s regional department, the region’s trade union federation and ILO Of-fice Coordinator of the Project on Improving OSH System in North-West Russia, Marat Rudakov. Within the framework of the semi-nar a meeting with small business representa-tives took place to discuss economic aspects of occupational safety and health at small enterprises. ■ Baku hosts seminar on migration

On April 26, Baku hosted a seminar on migration and devel-opment. The seminar was at-tended by representatives of

Azerbaijan’s Labour and Social Protection Ministry, Foreign Ministry, the state migra-tion service, trade unions and employers’ organizations and experts from UNDP, the International Organization for Migration, the ILO and the International Trade Unions Con-federation. Chief Technical Advisor of the ILO Office Project, Sandra Vermuijten, made a presentation on Migration and Development Project. During the event the ILO made a presentation of its two publications that were translated into the Azerbaijani language - In search of decent work. Migrant workers’ rights: A manual for trade unionists and ILO Multilateral Framework on Labour Migration.

■ Azerbaijan continues fight against human trafficking

On April 28, Baku hosted an anti-trafficking conference. The event took place ahead of the anti-trafficking week in Azerbai-

jan on May 1-6. The events were organized by OSCE Office in Baku, Ministry of Internal Affairs, International Organization for Migra-tion (IOM), International Labour Organization

(ILO) and Anti-Trafficking NGO Network. These events aimed to raise public awareness of trafficking in human beings and involve media in the anti-trafficking week campaign. The ILO was represented by the National Pro-ject Coordinator in Azerbaijan, Elnur Nasibov. Source: www.day.az ■ Murmansk’s small and medium businesses study to manage occu-pational safety and health

On May 19, a seminar on eco-nomic management of occupa-tional safety and health for small and medium businesses

started in Murmansk. This was already the fifth seminar conducted in Murmansk within he framework of the ILO Project on Improv-ing OSH System in North-West Russia. The event was organized by the region’s Health ad Social Development Ministry and the ILO Moscow Office. The ILO Project Coordina-tor, Marat Rudakov, noted that “the practice, including international one, proves that it is less costly to prevent occupational accidents than to liquidate their effects.” Source:www.murman.rfn.ru ■ Moscow State University Professor appointed as member of ILO Committee of Experts on application of Conventions and Recommendations

On June 15, the ILO Governing Body appointed new members of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations. Elena

Machulskaya of the Russian Federation be-came its member. She holds a Masters De-gree and a Doctorate in Labour and Social Law. She is professor of Law in the Depart-ment of Labour Law, Faculty of Law of the Moscow State Lomonosov University as well as Professor of Law in the Department of Labour and Social Law of the Russian State University of Oil and Gas.

The Committee of Experts was set up in 1926 to examine the growing number of gov-ernment reports on ratified conventions. To-day it is composed of 20 eminent jurists ap-pointed by the Governing Body for three-year terms. The Experts come from different geo-graphic regions, legal systems and cultures. The Committee's role is to provide an impar-tial and technical evaluation of the state of application of international labour standards in its annual report.

In Brief

Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia Russia 107031, Moscow, 15 Petrovka st., office 23 Tel.: +7 (495) 933-0810, fax: +7 (495) 933-0820 Web-site: www.ilo.ru E-mail: [email protected] Editor: Elena Iskandarova This newsletter is distributed free of charge. Circulation: 3500 copies On the issue of distribution please contact: +7 (495) 933-0810 or [email protected]

GENEVA (ILO News) - The annual Con-ference of the ILO concluded its 2010 session on June 18 with a strong call for placing em-ployment and social protection at the centre of recovery policies.

Meeting in the run-up to the G20 leaders summit in Toronto, representatives of the “real economy” - government, employer and worker delegates from the ILO’s 183 member states - expressed broad concern that the global economic recovery remained “fragile and unevenly distributed, and many labour markets are yet to see jobs recovery match economic recovery.”

Delegates called for action to apply the ILO’s Global Jobs Pact. The Pact was adopted at a crisis summit held during last year’s International Labour Conference.

Speakers also backed Director-General Juan Somavia’s call for a “balanced” policy strategy aimed at se-curing a “jobs-rich” economic recovery, and his warning that recent deficit reduc-tion measures, mainly in social spending, could “directly affect jobs and salaries” at a time of weak economic recovery and continued high levels of unemployment.

The Conference took place against a back-drop of new concern over the continuing global jobs crisis, that has elevated global unemployment to more than 210 million, or its highest level ever recorded, according to the Director-General’s report “Recovery and Growth with Decent Work”.

Delegates adopted a new international labour standard on HIV and AIDS. The stan-dard is the first internationally sanctioned legal instrument aimed at strengthening the contribu-tion of the world of work to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support and contains provisions on potentially life-saving prevention programmes and anti-discrimination measures at national and work-place levels.

They also discussed the ILO’s new Global

Report “Accelerating action against child labour” that came on the eve of a Global Child Labour Conference organized by the Government of the Netherlands in The Hague in cooperation with the ILO.

Extracts from delegates’ statements at the ILC plenary sessions Alexander SAFONOV, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Development, Russian Federation: — In this global financial crisis of 2009 and 2010, the Government of my country, in order to reduce labour market tensions, has adopted a series of anti-crisis measures and other measures aimed at in-creasing the income of our citizens. We were able in this way to en-sure social stability.

The Russian Government has also carried out extensive consultations with the social partners on issues such as the draft govern-

ment programme of anti-crisis measures, rec-ommendations on collaboration between the social partners during the economic crisis, progress in implementing the general agree-ment between national union associations, national employers‟ associations and the Gov-ernment for 2008–10, and the development of a new blue-print for social partnership. We are carrying out consultations with our social partners to sign a new general agreement for 2010–12 which will include all the main is-sues of social and labour relations.

Gulshara ABDYKALIKOVA, Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Kazakhstan: — The Global Jobs Pact is very relevant for

all the countries in the region and can be used as a guideline for future activity.

We would like to point out within the framework of the 99th session of the Confer-ence, on behalf of the Government of Kazakh-stan; we have signed with the ILO a decent work programme for 2010−2012.

Thanks to ILO support, the efforts of our social partners have seen substantial progress. There is however, a lack of monitoring of child labour and inadequate statistics and data, as well as other problems that have yet to be resolved. These problems will require con-

structive decisions on which, to a large extent, the achievement of a decent quality of life in our country will depend. In all this, we intend and expect to continue our collaboration with the ILO in order to achieve this. Natiq MAMEDOV, Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Azerbaijan: — In a globalized world, the crisis has affected all countries without exception, irrespective of their political or economic

systems. The only reliable way for us to achieve recovery and economic growth is through effective cooperation.

It is noteworthy that the Subregional Con-ference in Baku last December led to the adoption of country priorities for the second phase of the Decent Work Country Pro-gramme for 2010–2013.

Azerbaijan has defined three main priori-ties in the implementation of the Decent Work Country Programme: first, strengthening co-ordination and establishing effective mecha-nisms for labour market regulation; second, enhancing the quality of the workforce and of jobs; and third, implementing measures for social integration of vulnerable groups.

Continued on Page 2

ILO urges strong action on jobs to ensure balanced economic recovery

ISSN 1811-1351 # 2(41) JUNE 2010