GENEVA (ILO News) – The 96th annual conference of the International Labour Organization concluded its 15-day run on June 15 after adopting a com-prehensive new set of labour standards for the fishing industry and holding ex-tensive discussions on new approaches to promoting sustainable enterprises and decent work.

The International Labour Conference, the annual gathering of more than 3,000 delegates representing governments, and workers and employers from the ILO’s 180 member States, also launched a new partnership aimed at eliminating child labour in agriculture and considered a number of issues regarding adherence to international labour standards.

In a wide-ranging analysis of the role of Decent Work in promoting sustainable development, ILO Director-General Juan Somavia called for the strengthening of the ILO’s capacity on a number of fronts. He urged delegates to consider a new “Green Jobs Initiative” to support sus-tainable development and called for new approaches to dealing with trade and em-ployment, labour market analysis and the reduction of “global decent work defi-cits”.

Delegates gave overwhelming sup-port to new standards designed to im-prove the conditions of millions of men and women working in the fishing sector. The new standards contain provisions designed to ensure that workers in the fishing sector have improved occupa-tional safety and health and medical care at sea. They also call for sick or injured fishers to receive care ashore, sufficient rest for their health and safety, the pro-tection of a work agreement, and the same social security protection as other workers.

The Convention, to be known as The Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 and

the Recommendation will come into ef-fect when they are ratified by 10 (including eight coastal nations) of the ILO’s 180 member States (for further details see ILO press release ILO/07/37).

The Conference also adopted a pro-gramme and budget for the 2008-09 bien-nium of US$ 641.7 million. The Confer-ence also examined proposals to strengthen the governance of the ILO and its capacity to service constituents.

On June 15 in a ceremony in the ple-nary, the ILO awarded its first annual Decent Work Research Prize to Nobel peace laureate and former South African President Nelson Mandela and to the eminent academic and specialist in social security, Professor Carmelo Mesa-Lago, Professor Emeritus on Economics and Latin American Studies of the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

Sustainable enterprises

In its conclusions, the Conference Committee on Sustainable Enterprises said that sustainable enterprises are a principal source of growth, wealth crea-tion, employment and decent work. To realize these gains, a conducive environ-ment for sustainable enterprises is essen-

tial, including peace and political stabil-ity, good governance and the rule of law, social dialogue, respect for universal hu-man rights and international labour stan-dards, entrepreneurial culture, sound eco-nomic policies, fair competition and ac-cess to financial services, physical and technological infrastructure, education and training, and environmental sustain-ability, the Committee says.

International labour standards

The Committee on the Application of Standards again held a special sitting on the application by Myanmar of the

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), following up measures taken in the context of Article 33 of the ILO Consti-tution.

The Committee expressed its pro-found concern at the forced labour situa-tion in Myanmar, as reflected in the ob-servation of the Committee of Experts. It concluded that none of the recommenda-tions of the Commission of Inquiry had yet been implemented, and the imposi-tion of forced labour continued to be widespread, particularly by the army to which specific instructions should be issued. The Committee urged the Gov-ernment to implement all the recommen-dations of the Commission of Inquiry.

In addition to this special sitting, the Committee carried out the examination of 25 other individual cases covering the whole range of concerns addressed in ILO standards.

Noting the lack of progress with re-spect to freedom of association in Bela-rus, the Committee expressed in a spe-cial paragraph its concern about the situa-tion in the country. The Committee reit-erated the imperative need for the Gov-ernment to act without delay to ensure that all workers and employers organiza-

tions can function freely and without interference and obtain registration with-out prior authorization.

The Committee also noted the con-cerns raised relating to the draft Trade Union Law. In this respect, the Commit-tee urged the Government to vigorously pursue its consultations with all social partners in the country, and its coopera-tion with the ILO, with a view to making the legislative changes required to bring the law and practice into full conformity with the Convention and the Commission of Inquiry recommendations.

(Continued on Page 2)

96th International Labour Conference concludes

ISSN 1811-1351 # 2 (29) JUNE 2007

Ms. Elaine Fultz has been appointed new director of the ILO Subregional office for Eastern Europe and Cen-tral Asia with ef-fect from June 1, 2007. Elaine Fultz is a

US citizen who was born in the state of North Carolina. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from George Washington University (1971, 72) and a PhD in public administration from New York University (1991). She is married to John Melton Francis, a lin-guist specializing in education and com-munication, and has one son, John Kirk Francis, who is working on his PhD in mathematics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

For the past seven years, Ms. Fultz has served the Senior Specialist in Social Security at the ILO Subregional Office for Central and Eastern Europe in Buda-pest. There she has managed major ILO technical cooperation projects to assist regional governments in modernizing

their social security systems to match the needs and constraints of market econo-mies and the requirements of EU mem-bership. She has collaborated with the senior staff of CEE labour ministries; directors of social insurance and social assistance agencies; officials of trade union confederations and employers’ associations; advocacy organizations working on behalf of women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly; and academic researchers, largely economists and sociologists working in pensions, forecasting, poverty, and income ine-quality. A major thrust of her work has been aimed at assisting workers and em-ployers in fulfilling their roles as the governments’ partners in social policy making. She has also carried out studies of social policy reforms in 17 CEE coun-tries designed to address questions perti-nent to the development of policy advice for ILO constituents.

Before joining the ILO, Ms. Fultz worked for 14 years in the US House of Representatives, first as chief legislative assistant to a member of congress serv-ing on the Ways and Means Committee (1975-82) and, subsequently, as a mem-

ber of the professional staff of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Social Se-curity (1987-1994). As chief legislative assistant, she specialized in tax law, un-employment insurance, social assistance, health insurance issues, and social secu-rity. At the Social Security Subcommit-tee, she specialized in disability pension legislation, extension of social security coverage, and legislative oversight of the US Social Security Commission.

In 1995, Ms. Fultz was appointed executive director of the National Com-mission on Childhood Disability, a na-tional study group created by the US Congress to make recommendations for restructuring cash benefits for the fami-lies of disabled children. On the comple-tion of the Commission’s work, she joined the ILO, where her first assign-ment was first stationed in Harare, Zim-babwe as social security specialist for Southern Africa (1995-1999).

Ms. Fultz has authored or edited more than 20 publications on social se-curity reform and has received an award for distinguished public service from her alma mater, New York University, Wag-ner School of Public Service. ■

Newsletter №2 (29), Page 2

96th International Labour Conference concludes (Continued from Page 1)

Welcoming the Government’s state-ment that it would continue to cooperate with the national social partners and that it had invited a high-level ILO mission immediately following the Conference, the Committee expressed the firm hope that significant progress in ensuring full respect for freedom of association would be made without any further delay. In order to appropriately monitor develop-ments in this regard, the Committee rec-

ommended that the Governing Body reconsider this matter in November 2007.

The General Survey discussed by the Conference Committee this year was on forced labour.

While preparing the issue

On June 20, ILO Executive Director Kari Tapiola arrived in the Belarussian capital for a three-day visit. He is ac-companied by Ms. Karen Curtis, Deputy

Director of the Standards Department, and Ms. Oksana Wolfson, legal officer of the same department.

Belarus invited Kari Tapiola to dis-cuss a draft law on trade unions and take part in a meeting of the council for upgrading labour legislation under the Belarussian Labour and Social Protec-tion Ministry due on June 21.■

By information of the Belarussian News agency

Appointments

Nilim Baruah has been appointed chief technical advisor of Russian Federation/CIS migration project. As we wrote in our December issue, the ILO under EU’s fi-nancial assistance launched large-scale

three-year project Towards Sustainable Partnerships for the Effective Governance of Labour Migration in the Russian Federa-tion, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The project aims to promote a sustain-

able, participative and equitable approach to the governance of labour migration in the Russian Federation, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

Nilim Baruah graduated from St. Stephen’s College University of Delhi (B.A.) and Norman Paterson School of International Affairs Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada.

Until now he headed the labour migra-tion service of the International Organiza-tion for Migration in Geneva. From 1999 to 2002 he worked at the IOM office in Yere-van, Armenia, occupying different posts – from a project director to the mission chief.

In 1991-1994 he was a regional representa-tive of OXFAM in Bhubaneshwar, India. In 1994-1997 he was OXFAM relief coordina-tor and later country representative in Yere-van. He worked as Actionaid programme officer in Bangalore, India (1987-1991). He also was a consultant of the Canadian Inter-national Development Agency and a devel-opment associate of PRADAN (Professional Assistance for Development Action).

Aside from his mother tongue – As-samese, he has command of English, good knowledge of Hindu and Bengali, and speaks Russian and Armenian.■

Fourteen North Ossetian women and men became the first participants in a ten-day training conducted by the ILO Moscow Office in Vladikavkaz on 15-25 April. They came from training institu-tions, employment services, non-governmental organizations, and inde-pendent business agencies interested in becoming potential trainers as a result of the first Training of Trainers (TOT) on Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) programme.

As ‘newly born’ SIYB trainers they will be acting as mediators between the business development services and the emerging small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The ILO certified them and

provided them with training materials to run training of potential entrepreneurs, to provide consultations and coaching to new and existing businesses. The objec-tive of the project Entrepreneurship De-velopment and Training in North Cauca-sus is to promote SME development and employment growth by creating local potential for entrepreneurial training and education in three republics of the North Caucasus (North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Chechnya).

The ILO’s programme continued its work in Nazran, Ingushetia with the similar SIYB TOT on 29 April – 10 May 2007 for a group of 16 potential entre-preneurship trainers. Both TOT work-shops were run by two certified ILO SIYB Master Trainers from Russia and Kyrgyzstan.

In parallel, another SIYB Master Trainer in cooperation with an independ-ent consultant from the Plekhanov Rus-sian Academy of Economics and local experts from North Ossetia and In-gushetia implemented a Rapid Market Appraisal (RMA) in Nazran and Vladi-kavkaz on 21-28 April. They interviewed public employment services, banking institutions, business training companies

and a series of focus groups with unem-ployed and with entrepreneurs.

The RMA’s purpose was to analyze the socio-economic situation, the status of business development services (BDS) market, demand and supply of BDS, ob-stacles and opportunities for BDS market growth, and the needs of the potential entrepreneurs among the target groups (especially unemployed, youth, women).

The RMA research tool of ILO SIYB programme is a practical cost-effective tool, including “here-and-now” approach and thus delivers actual infor-mation about the current business envi-ronment.■

Newsletter №2 (29), Page 3

SIYB takes first steps in Ingushetia and North Ossetia

On May 10, the ILO pub-lished its new global report on equality at work. In its most compre-

hensive report on discrimination to date, the ILO’s “Equality at work: Tackling the challenges” cites both progress and failures in the struggle to fight discrimination ranging from tra-ditional forms such as sex, race or religion, to newer forms based on age, sexual orientation, HIV/AIDS status and disability.

Marina Baskakova, an ILO ex-pert, Doctor of Economic Sciences, and senior research worker of the In-stitute for Social Processes Manage-ment of the State University — Higher School of Economics:

No doubt that the issue raised in the report is very pressing for modern Russia. Although our government le-

gally bans all types of discrimination in all areas of life, including workplace discrimination (Russia is a signatory to most international treaties and ratified most ILO conventions on discrimina-tion; its national labour legislation meets international standards and con-tains no discriminatory provisions – moreover, the Russian Constitution guarantees not only equal rights and freedoms to men and women, but also equal opportunities for their realiza-tion), discrimination is still wide-spread.

Surveys show that at present the reduction of the scale and conse-quences of discrimination in Russia is hampered by many factors, first of all by the lack of mechanisms to imple-ment the existing non-discrimination legislation. A special problem in the fight against discrimination is that judges and the public at large have little knowledge of international labour standards and non-discrimination pro-visions of the international human

rights instruments. It is important to note that Russia has no special bodies responsible for prevention or elimina-tion of discrimination either at the fed-eral or regional level. The existing administrative mechanisms of protec-tion against discrimination, in fact, remain unused. There are also many social phenomena hampering to stamp out discrimination at work. First of all, we should note citizens’ low aware-ness of their labour rights and opportu-nities to protect these rights. Tolerance to gender discrimination is fed by pa-triarchic stereotypes, traditions and norms widespread in Russia.

It is quite clear that Russia should take urgent steps to study problems of all types of discrimination. Both inter-national experience to combat dis-crimination and the implementation of ILO’s action plan proposed by the Global Report authors will help Russia take more effective actions in this area.■

ILO Global Report “Equality at work: Tackling the challenges” - expert’s comments

Where the cotton is high…child labour in agriculture in Central Asia

There are no exact figures for the number of child labourers in the agricul-tural sector in the Central Asian Repub-lics but national experts indicate that chil-dren constitute a significant segment of the workforce in the tobacco and cotton fields. Since 2005, an ILO programme aims at empowering national actors to fight the worst forms of child labour in line with ILO Convention 182.

ALMATY, Kazakhstan (ILO online) It’s summertime in the fields of Central Asia and the cotton is high. But the scenery is less idyllic than in George Gershwin’s musical Porgy and Bess.

Fifteen year-old Timur and his family belong to those Kyrgyz labour migrants who came from Kyrgystan to a cotton growing village in Kazakhstan in search for jobs and income. Timur started to work in the fields at the age of eleven and is out of school because he has no identity docu-ments. He works there from March to early December, sometimes from 8 am to 9 pm. His working day exceeds considerably the limit fixed by national labour law.

Timur says that he does not like the work because it is hard and tiresome. “If I did not have to work, I would like to go to school”, he says. But his parents who can hardly feed their family from the work in the fields think that it is normal for their children to help them.

Kazakhstan has achieved undoubted successes in its socioeconomic develop-ment and advanced government policies have led to significant improvements in children’s and families’ lives. As a result of this, child labour which was seemingly prevalent in the 90s, has significantly de-clined in Kazakhstan.

Yet child labour is often a survival strategy for those less lucky members of society – migrants, poor families and trou-bled families. Moreover, child labour is becoming a regional, cross-border issue.

The influx of seasonal labour migrants from neighbouring countries to Kazakhstan also contributes to the incidence of child labour in tobacco and cotton plantations. It is estimated that migrant children consti-tute the majority of working children in the season. Children working in Central Asian cotton and tobacco fields are a common picture today.

But the situation was not always like that: child labour has only recently emerged as a major issue in the Central Asian Republics (CAR) of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Though the use of children in tobacco and cotton growing was prevalent and enforced by the state in the Soviet past, exploitative and hazardous forms of child labour were largely absent; labour markets were tightly controlled and the state assured childcare and monitoring services that minimised exploitation and abuse of children.

“This changed with the collapse of the socialist model of a planned economy in the early nineties of the last century. In the new economic environment, an array of factors contributed to the use of child la-bour in agriculture, including rural poverty, large families, the widespread use of man-ual unskilled work in tobacco and cotton growing, the lack of preschool child care facilities and educational and training alter-natives for rural children and youth”, ex-plains Klaus Günther, Senior Programme Officer in the ILO’s International Pro-gramme on the Elimination of Child La-bour (IPEC).

What’s more, with the reforms in agri-culture, including the privatization of the land and the development of a market sys-tem in rural areas, family farms have emerged where all family members, in-cluding children, work together.

The Central Asian republics followed this trend. Even in Kazakhstan, the country with the most dynamic economy in Central Asia and an increasingly formalised labour market, the development of rural areas has so far lagged behind other sectors although the Government has taken a number of strategic measures to increase the effec-tiveness of agriculture, the incomes of agri-cultural workers and living standards of rural families.

In Central Asia, in both tobacco and cotton growing, children do all types of work. In tobacco, they are involved in to-bacco sowing, irrigation, weeding, picking, sorting, stringing and pressing; in cotton children do weeding, worm collection and cotton gathering. Girls are more involved

in work that requires accuracy and dili-gence such as tobacco sorting and string-ing, while boys do more physical and en-durance work, such as weeding and press-ing.

“No wonder the health of the working children is poor. Physically demanding work, inadequate rest, malnutrition, un-sanitary and risky working conditions, exposure to chemicals and hazardous com-ponents cannot but affect the children’s health”, says Klaus Günther, adding that “child labour also contributes to incom-plete school enrolments or jeopardizes the quality of rural education and puts the goal of universal primary education at risk which the country had nearly achieved”.

Forging partnerships against child labour

The increase in the incidence of child labour has led the ILO‘s IPEC programme to focus its attention on the Central Asian Republics (CAR). Since 2005, a large-scale programme called PROACT-CAR is implemented in the four countries – Ka-zakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uz-bekistan.

The programme aims at empowering national actors from the grass roots to pol-icy makers to fight the worst forms of child labour in line with ILO Convention 182. The activities include building a knowl-edge base on child labour; dissemination of information; awareness raising; policy and legislative support; and direct assistance provided to working children and their families. “The ILO Member States in Cen-tral Asia acknowledge that child labour is a growing problem”, says Klaus Guenther. “They are strongly committed to address the issue. There is, however, limited capac-ity to fully apply Convention 182 in these countries, and IPEC stands ready to pro-vide all possible assistance to facilitate concerted national efforts against the worst forms of child labour”. “The Government of Kazakhstan recognizes the problem of child labour and addresses the issue in a principle and sustainable way. It has to be noted that child labour in our country is closely related to migration, because many of the working children are from migrant families coming from the neighbouring states. We actively work with our local administrations, schools and farmers, and we already have positive results. We have resolved, to a considerable extent, the child labour issue in tobacco growing but a lot still needs to be done. We appreciate the

Harvest for the future — agriculture without child labour

Newsletter №2 (29), Page 4

assistance provided by ILO-IPEC and we hope that our cooperation will continue in the future”, says Gulzhana Karagussova, Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Population and a delegate to the Interna-tional Labour Conference. A lot has already been done. The recently adopted in Kazakh-stan Labour Code states the prohibition of the worst forms of child labour as one of its key principles and provides high level of protection to children. Next, thanks to the PROACT-CAR project, data on WFCL in the four Central Asian countries has been collected and analyzed; awareness and mobi-lization work is underway at all levels - from law-makers to local communities, individual families and children. Special mention merit media contests called “Real Stories on Child Labour”, which bring the issue of child la-bour to public attention. An important ele-ment of the PROACT-CAR programme is sharing experience and information on the worst forms of child labour across the subre-gion.

“Let us hope that children like Timur will fulfil their dream and go to school, and that the motto of this year’s World Day against Child Labour - Harvest for the Fu-ture: agriculture without child labour - will soon become a reality worldwide” , con-cludes Michele Jankanish, Director of ILO-IPEC.■

“12 days against the exploitation of child labour”

On June 12, the preliminary results of the awareness raising campaign “12 days against

the exploitation of child labour” were summed up in Almaty. The campaign was organized by the public organization Union of Women of Intellectual Labour, the Inter-national Labour Organizations, Almaty’s administration and prosecutor’s office and representatives of non-governmental organi-zations and mass media. It was launched on June 1 – the Children’s Day and was held till June 12 – the World Day against Child La-bour.

The campaign’s goal was to raise public awareness and mobilize people’s efforts in combating child labour.

“The fact that so many organizations took part in the project proves that people are not indifferent to the future of our chil-dren and that everybody heard our appeal to fight child labour. We will sum up the key results of our work on October 1,” the presi-dent of the Union of Women of Intellectual Labour, Laila Akhmetova, said. By the information of the Kazinform news agency Exhibition “Harvest for the Future: ag-riculture without child labour” opens in Dushanbe

From June 12 to June 18 Tajikistan’s capital hosted an exhibition of graphic works by Tajik graphic painter Farrukh Negma-dzade in the Gurmindzh Zavkibekov musical instruments museum. The exhibition was devoted to the World Day against Child Labour and carried its central theme Harvest for the Future: agriculture without child la-bour. It brought together 55 graphic paint-

ings that reflected the author’s thoughts about child labour in Tajikistan.

The exhibition was organized by the non-governmental organization The Youth Foundation 21st Century, the musical instru-ments museum with the ILO’s support. By the information of the REGNUM news agency Tajikistan launches new site on pro-tection of children’s rights

On April 17, a new web site on Tajiki-stan’s social policy reform and protection of children’s rights was represented in the La-bour and Social Protection Ministry in Dushanbe (http://socialpolicy.freenet.tj/index.htm).

The site was developed by the scientific research institute for labour and social pro-tection of population in cooperation with the national commission for children’s rights and under technical assistance of Tajiki-stan’s government and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Kyrgyzstan’s southern region says

No to Child Labour! The campaign devoted to the World Day

against Child Labour was held in the town of Osh, southern Kyrgyzstan, on June 12. It included different performances, competi-tions and relay races for street children from Osh and the nearby town of Karasuu, as well as for inmates of children’s daytime centres and the Boorukerdyk boarding school. By the information of the REGNUM news agency

Newsletter №2 (29), Page 5

World Day against child labour — 2007

Sveshnikov Andrei, 13 «To unload railway wagons — not for children!»

Sologubik Maxim, 11 «Guys, wash your cars by yourself!»

Pogdusev Dmitry, 12 «All can be different!»

This was a slogan of a regular contest in children’s drawings, paintings and photo-graphs organized by ILO/IPEC. This time it was held in four schools of Vyborg, the Len-ingrad region. In late May the jury chose best works out of the 125 participants.

Teachers discussed the problem of child labour with their pupils focusing on reasons

and types of child labour, its consequences and danger it poses. But children have to find the idea of their works and give it a title on their own – some of them used pencils, some – paints and others took photos.

The jury bringing together a secretary of the regional commission on minors and pro-tection of their rights, art school teachers,

and officials of regional education and youth affairs departments chose winners in three age groups: 7-10, 11-13 and 14-17 years.

Awarding ceremonies took place in each school during annual celebrations devoted to the end of the school year. Winners and teachers, who helped organize the competi-tion, received presents and souvenirs. ■

Stop child labour!

On March 26 the ILO and its tripar-tite partners – government, employers’ and workers organizations - signed a Decent Work Country Programme for the Republic of Armenia for 2007-2011.

A priority issue in the new Pro-gramme is the improvement of employ-ment policies. Despite active GDP growth of 13,4%, employment prob-lems still persist in the country and the unemployment rate is still high - 8.2%.

The ILO will assist the social part-ners in effectively using labour market analysis in formulating and implement-ing labour market policies in order to strengthen links between education and the labour market. Technical advice and capacity building will be provided for the improvement of the law and prac-tice concerning recruitment, oversight and protection of migrant workers.

Another central issue is strengthen-ing of social partnership. The Pro-gramme foresees further development of the legal basis for social partnership and social dialogue, including sectoral and enterprise level, collective bargain-ing, promotion of tripartite and bipartite

commissions. Collective bargaining will help to address such issues as wage disparity, wage discrimination and low-pay.

The Decent Work Country Pro-gramme also aims to improve social protection in Armenia, especially a na-tional occupational safety and health (OSH) system. Safety and working con-ditions in the country have been dete-riorating since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the labour inspectorate has ceased to exist. The ILO calculates that accidents and poor working conditions cost the employers and the country up to 4 per cent of the Gross National Product. Thanks to the joint efforts of the Government, the social partners and the ILO, a new labour code and a Law on Labour Inspection were adopted. A significant event was also the creation of a completely new labour inspection system with more than 140 inspectors covering all regions of the country. The Programme will further promote putting the country’s OSH legislation and prac-tices into compliance with the interna-tional standards

Other priorities of the Programme include HIV/AIDS prevention at the workplace and the application of ILO Conventions No. 138 and 182 on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Aghvan Vardanyan, Minister of Labour and Social Issues, underlined the tripar-tite nature of the new Programme. Its priorities were identified and agreed upon by the tripartite constituents in consultation with the ILO, the minister said. Heads of employers’ and workers organizations – Arsen Ghazaryan and

Martin Harutyunyan - expressed their satisfaction with the work of the na-tional tripartite working group that had been created to draft the Programme.

Werner Konrad Blenk, ILO Subre-gional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia said: “Decent Work Coun-try Programmes are the main instrument for ILO cooperation with member states throughout the world. They organize the ILO cooperation in a coherent and integrated framework that effectively enables the country to make progress towards achieving decent work for all”.

He underlined the considerable role of the minister, deputy minister and social partners in developing this De-cent Work Country Programme that will serve as a roadmap for the future activities.

He also stressed the DWCP contri-bution to international development framework, such as poverty reduction strategies, the United Nations Develop-ment Assistance Framework (UNDAF), national Millennium Development Goals strategies and other integrated development plans.■

Armenia and ILO sign Decent Work Country Programme

Newsletter №2 (29), Page 6

The National Confederation of Entre-preneurs’ (Employers’) Organizations of Azerbaijan (ASK) has successfully com-pleted the project “Capacity building of employers’ organizations on productiv-ity and competitiveness” that was imple-mented with ILO’s support in July 2005 through January 2007.

The project’s goal was to assist mem-bers or potential members of employers’ organizations in capacity-building on productivity and competitiveness, im-proving business education and increas-ing productivity and competitiveness at

the national level. The project covered two sectors of national economy — ho-tel tourism and agriculture and was im-plemented in six pilot regions: Guba, Gusar, Khachmaz in the north and Lenkoran, Astara, Lerik in the south of the country.

In 2005, within the framework of the project the ILO conducted Azerbaijan’s first-ever survey on productivity and competitiveness among 450 respondents. The survey covered business develop-ment and programs in personnel man-agement policy, taxation, legislative

base, tourism and agriculture. For the project’s effective implemen-

tation the ASK set up a productivity and competitiveness centre to provide con-sultations to members and potential members of the project on how to in-crease competitiveness and productivity at the individual, national and interna-tional levels.

The ASK held the Training of Trainers courses to create a network of local trainers on productivity and com-petitiveness. Ten trainers from six pilot districts took courses.

Aghvan Vardanyan, Werner Blenk

Azerbaijan’s employers complete project on

GENEVA (ILO News) − On June 14 the Tajik tripartite delegation to the annual Conference of International La-bour Organization and ILO Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia Friedrich Buttler signed a Programme of Cooperation on Decent Work be-tween Tajikistan and the ILO for the years 2007-2009.

The current social and economic situation in the country is characterized by some positive trends, including a steady tendency for economic recovery, decrease of inflation and improvement in living standards. The GDP growth shows a positive dynamic: 8.3 percent in 2000, 10.8 per cent in 2002, 11.0 percent in 2003, 10.6 percent in 2004 and 6.7 percent in 2005. Alongside this positive development in the economy and social sphere, numerous problems still persist, and the new decent Work Programme aims to address these chal-lenges.

A priority issue in the Programme is

promoting of standards, fundamental principles and rights at work. The Re-public of Tajikistan has ratified 44 ILO Conventions, including all eight funda-mental ones; however the implementa-tion mechanisms and framework need to be improved. A lot also needs to be done to introduce principles of social dialogue into the regulation of social and labour relations.

Another important issue is labour migration, which has been key to eco-nomic development and the survival of people in Tajikistan, and relieving so-cial pressure stemming from high un-employment. Every year, about 250.000 Tajik workers leave their country in search of work. Most of them go to Russia also as to neighbouring countries of Central Asia.

Many of them have no work or resi-dence permit that would allow them to stay and work legally in the destination countries. The Programme aims to ad-dress issues of irregular migration in-cluding its extreme form – trafficking in persons.

Other priorities of the Programme are the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, assistance in small and medium-size enterprise development, and in further development of national vocational training system, also through the ILO’s Modular Employable Skills methodology.

Within the new Decent Work Pro-gramme the ILO will assist its partners in improving the pay system and social protection schemes. Emphasis will be also made on combating HIV/AIDS in the world of work and on addressing the occupational safety and health prob-lems.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr. Shukurjon Zukhorov, Minister of Labour of Tajikistan, said that “the main objective of the Program was to promote further development of the social and labour sphere in the Republic of Tajikistan aimed at attaining the goal of Decent Work for all”. The Minister called the Programme “a logical con-tinuation of the successful cooperation that has been developed between the Republic of Tajikistan and the Interna-tional Labour Organization”.

The social partners – Mr. Azizbek Sharipov, on behalf of the Tajik em-ployers, and Mr. Karchi Karimov, on behalf of the Tajik trade unions – ex-pressed strong commitment of their organizations to implement, through the means of social dialogue, all the objec-tives outlined in the new Decent Work Programme.

Mr. Friedrich Buttler stressed the role of the Programme in advancing the Decent Work Agenda in Tajikistan as well as in strengthening collaboration with other UN agencies, finds and pro-grammes at the national level and in the implementation of the UN system ef-forts to “deliver as one”.■

Decent Work Programme for Tajikistan signed

Newsletter №2 (29), Page 7

The training was based on Training Modules developed and published by the ASK with ILO’s financial support.

The confederation held workshops and roundtable meetings in all pilot districts and published the guidelines on productivity and competitiveness that contained necessary information on the tools to increase productivity and com-petitiveness as well as national legisla-tive acts on the issue.

On January 17, the ASK held a final conference in Baku to sum up the re-

sults of the ILO project. In late January the confederation

took part in a subregional conference on competitiveness and productivity of employers’ associations in the Caucasus and Central Asia in Tbilisi, Georgia. Employers of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ar-menia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyr-gyzstan exchanged experience in the project’s implementation.

In May, the ASK held a second stage of seminars on productivity and competitiveness in Ismailly, Sheki, Za-

gatala and Bilasuvar bringing together 75 entrepreneurs and journalists. It is important to note that many women attended the seminars.

The confederation plans to apply the project on productivity and competitive-ness in other service sectors and indus-tries to boost companies’ competitive-ness and create many decent work-places within the framework of the De-cent Work Country Programme for 2006-2009, which was signed by Azer-baijan and the ILO last November.■

productivity and competitiveness

Tajik tripartite partners signing the document

Sh. Zukhorov, F. Buttler

Newsletter №2 (29), Page 8

World Day for Safety and Health at Work throughout Russia

Every year the World Day for Safety and Health at Work grow lar-ger and larger all over Russia. This year it look like being marked in every small town and big city and at each enterprise. Unfortunately, the format of our Newsletter cannot enclose all information about every participant in this action, therefore we give you just a mosaic from Russia’s different re-gions to show the Day’s real scale.

Russia’s State Duma hosted a

news conference devoted to the open-ing of the exhibition of protection equipment and safety measures that was mounted in the Duma’s building on April 23-27. It was initiated by the Duma labour and social policy com-mittee and organized by the associa-tion of designers, producers and sup-pliers of personal protection clothes and footwear.

The Belgorod energy system takes continuous efforts to better working conditions and ensure safe workplaces. The inter-regional power distribution network of the Centre and North Caucasus that includes Bel-gorodenergo announced 2007 the Year of Occupational Safety and every three months were devoted to different issues of occupation safety – training and knowledge quiz, preparations for maintenance and repair campaign, observance of safety rules at work-place and preparations for autumn-winter period.

The Izhevsk railway depart-ment held a workshop on occupa-tional safety and health, and an exhibi-tion of personal protection clothes and footwear for railway workers and of training materials and manuals. Win-ners of railway safety contests for 2006 as well as workers contributing to the creation of safe working condi-tions were awarded.

The Saratov region for the first time held the Week for Occupational Safety and Health as well as roundta-ble meetings and workshops.

Within the framework of the Doors

Open Day the Murmansk region organized exhibitions of books on oc-cupational safety and health and of personal protection equipment and held consultations both for individuals and organizations on the issues of safety management in enterprises and of compensations payment for danger-ous and hazardous working condi-tions.

The trade unions federation in the town of Gvardeisk, the Kalinin-grad region, organized refresher courses for heads of enterprises, em-ployers and chiefs of occupational safety commissions.

The Makeyev Rocket Design Bureau that has become the first enterprise in the Chelyabinsk re-gion to join the all-Russia OSH Day action held a month campaign to in-spect enterprises’ observance of occu-pational safety and explosion preven-tion demands and to hold occupational safety trainings.

Tatarstan also had a month of events devoted to the OSH Day. The republic’s Aznakayevo, Chistopol and Tukayevsky districts organized panel games on occupational safety and health, the Vysokogorsky district – a competition on schools’ safety, Al-metyevsk – a quiz Do You Know Oc-cupational Safety and Health?, the Moscow district of capital Kazan – a contest for the best knowledge of safety rules and workshop on first aid to the injured, the Novo-Savinsk dis-trict – a meeting with heads of educa-tional institutions on safe working conditions for children during school holidays.

Occupational safety commission of the North Caucasian railway pooled efforts to outline an action plan that included inspections of safety rules observance, workshops, confer-ences and competitions.

Ryazan and the Ryazan re-gion held the Day of Occupational Safety Specialists to discuss occupa-tional safety and health in the revised Labour Code of Russia.

Krasnodar’s municipal organi-zations and institutions mark the Day for Safety and Health at Work regu-larly – first Thursday of every month.

The Far Eastern Shipping Company held an annual week for safety and health to focus on studying and practicing occupational safety standards by seafarers and workers of border services.

The Jewish Autonomous Dis-trict for the first time organized a month campaign for safety and health at work mounting banner slogans say-ing “Corporate Culture Guarantees Safe Work!” and “Yes to Occupa-tional Safety and Health!”, showing a TV program and opening a page on labour management at the regional authorities’ official website.■

Tashkent hosts conference on occupational safety and health

On May 21-24, Tashkent hosted a conference on occupational safety and health problems organized by the Council of Trade Unions Federation of Uzbekistan.

Taking part in the conference were parliamentarians, representatives of the women’s committee of Uzbeki-stan, the Labour and Social Protection Ministry as well as other ministries and agencies, non-governmental or-ganizations, ILO experts and trade unionists from Russia, Ukraine, Bela-rus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The conference was chaired by the head of the Council of Trade Unions Federation of Uzbekistan, Dilbar Dzhakhongirova. She stated that large-scale reforms on economic and social infrastructure development con-ducted by President Islam Karimov are aimed at improving living stan-dards and meeting people’s needs and priorities.

The creation of alternative and safe working conditions is a part of such reforms. Article 37 of Uzbekistan’s Constitution says every citizen in the country has the right to work, to free choice of employment, just and favor-able conditions of work and protection against unemployment.

This factor plays an important role in social and economic development of the society. Bad working conditions lead to excessive costs of labour, re-

World Day for Safety and Health at Work:

sources and raw materials. The well-established occupational safety and health system as well as the creation of favourable and comfortable work-ing conditions are economically vi-able for workers, employers and the country in general.

Uzbekistan conducts large-scale work to improve the OSH system in all economic entities. The Trade Un-ions Federation of Uzbekistan con-tributes to this.

As a result of joint measures to upgrade the OSH system, its norma-tive and legal base and increase con-trol over the implementation of labour legislation, the government, employ-ers and trade unions helped reduce officially registered occupational acci-dents.

“Deputy Labour Minister Batyr Alimukhamedov presented a draft Decent Work Country Programme. And we put forward recommenda-tions to ratify a number of Conven-tions and implement ILO-OSH 2001 – GOST 12.0.230-2007,” senior spe-cialist in occupational safety and health of the ILO Moscow Office Wiking Husberg said.

“We also discussed the foreseen Finnish project to support the mod-ernisation of the Uzbek national OSH system and the Korean research pro-ject on OSH to improve the collection of statistics on occupational acci-dents,” he said.

Partakers discussed how to resolve the pressing issues of occupational safety and heath and coordinate ef-

forts of the government, trade unions and labour inspectors to ensure citi-zens’ right to safe working conditions.

They also exchanged opinions on other countries’ experience and effec-tive measures to be taken to improve occupational safety and health.

“The ILO mission plans to visit Uzbekistan in December to hold a seminar on the national OSH profile, review progress in this area and sign the DWCP, if applicable,” Wiking Husberg said.■

Uzbekistan’s national news agency UzA

s u m m i n g u p r e s u l t s

Newsletter №2 (29), Page 9

Our publications Occupational Safety and Health These two training manuals are designed for specialists and heads of organizations’ safety services (green cover) and for members of organi-zations’ safety commissions and trade unions’ specially authorized persons (yellow cover). They are published by the Institute of Occupa-tional and Personal Safety of the Perm State Technical University and the Perm regional occupational safety centre. Both of them are the seventh amended and sup-plemented edition.

The basis for organizing professional risks man-agement G. Fainburg This is one of the manuals for managing professional risks. It describes the measures of occupational risks man-agement in compliance with the ILO recommenda-tions. It points to the need to use the means of per-sonal protection and to maintain constant coopera-tion between employers, workers and other inter-ested partied to improve working conditions and protect workers’ health.

Organizing the implementa-tion of employers’ obliga-tions to comply with safe work requirements G. Fainburg This is a handbook for em-ployers that will help them to manage safety and health at work.

The Russian encyclopedia on oc-cupational safety and health in three volumes (second edition) The encyclopedia in prepared by the Russian Social Development and Health Ministry and contains the most comprehensive information on occupa-tional safety and health in the Russian Federation, its history and prospects.

Safe and healthy work-places — Making decent work a reality This is ILO’s new report pub-lished to the World Day for Safety and Health at Work-2007 that highlights the new Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention (No 187).

Newsletter №2 (29), Page 10

Our publications

Joint ILO/WHO Guidelines for Health Services and HIV/AIDS These guidelines are the product of collaboration between the International Labour Organization and the World Health Organiza-tion. They promote the sound management of HIV/AIDS in health services, including the prevention of occupational exposure. Fur-thermore, the purpose is to ensure that health-care workers have decent, safe and healthy working condi-tions, while ensuring effec-tive care that respects the needs and rights of patients, especially those living with HIV/AIDS. The guidelines are intended for governments, public and private employers, workers and their representatives, professional associations, scientific and academic in-stitutions, and all other groups and bodies with re-sponsibilities and activities relevant to the delivery of health care.

A Handbook on HIV/AIDS for Labour and Factory Inspectors The purpose of the hand-book is to help labour and factory inspectors deal with the issue of HIV/AIDS in their work. In particular, it will help inspectors apply the ILO Code of Practice on HIV/AIDS and the world of work, which was adopted in June 2001. These guidelines help to make it clear why HIV/AIDS is a labour issue and development challenge,

and to discuss the ways it concerns labour/factory in-spectors. Some aspects of youth education, gender equal-ity and employment M. Baskakova The publication has been produced within the frame-w o r k o f t h e I L O /Netherlands project on boosting youth employment. This analytical study pre-sents the situation of young

people on the labour market in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Based on the analysis of data provided by national statistical committees of the countries in the sub-region and some international or-ganizations (ILO, UNICEF, UNDP, World Bank), the survey also reflects the re-sults of discussions and findings of the sub-regional tripartite workshop on youth employment (Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan, May-June 2006). Discussions involving tri-partite partners from seven CIS member-states (Azer-baijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Uzbekistan) helps analyze the situation of youth in such areas as education, economic activ-ity, unemployment, rates and quality of employment, as well as to highlight gen-der aspects of these prob-lems.

International Labour Or-ganization: conventions, documents, materials This book is not an ILO pub-lication, but we decided to present it to our readers any-way. The publishing house Business and Service issued this collection of ILO’s docu-ments and materials on labour rights, working conditions and life of workers in the Russian language. Full texts of ILO’s officially translated conventions Russia has rati-fied were for the first time included in one book. Together with conventions the reference book contains the ILO’s most important documents – the ILO Consti-tution, the Standing Orders of the International Labour Con-ference, declarations, resolu-tions and some other materials. The book also includes laws of Russia’s supreme legisla-tive, executive and judicial bodies that regulate ILO-Russia relations. The book is published for governments, employers’ associations and trade unions.

A series of training manuals for ILO’s Start and Improve Your Business Pro-gramme (SIYB) These manuals were specially published for ILO’s new project Entrepreneurship Develop-ment and Business Training in the North Cauca-sus that is being implemented in North Ossetia, Ingushetia and Chechnya. They include materials for trainers, potential and existing entrepreneurs.

Newsletter №2 (29), Page 11

As we wrote in our previous issue ILO Director-General Juan Somavia and UNDP Administrator Kemal Dervis on February 9 signed the joint agree-ment to strengthen their collaboration and partnership in a major new effort to bolster UN actions designed to reduce poverty and create more decent work. The ILO and UNDP will promote inclu-sive economic growth with social de-velopment to benefit the bottom 20 to 40 percent of the population, and bol-ster UN efforts to achieve the Millen-nium Development Goals by 2015.

Thus, from April 11 to April 13 UN Resident Coordinators and ILO Country Directors from 12 countries (Egypt, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Mozam-bique, Pakistan, Syria, Tanzania, Trini-dad & Tobago, Turkey, Uruguay and, Viet Nam) met in Turin to discuss prac-tical ways and means to align the priori-ties, content and methods of the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda with the United Nations Development Assistance Framework.

Both the UNDP and the ILO ac-knowledge that greater policy coher-ence and better implementation would have considerable consequences for their daily operations at the country level. They also recognize that a shared understanding of Decent Work and full employment should be an essential ele-ment in national policies for the eradi-cation of poverty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

Through this Workshop, UNDP and ILO participants acquired a shared un-derstanding of the Decent Work para-digm and a better knowledge of their respective mandates, operations and programming procedures. This will

enable them to plan their future collabo-ration at the country level effectively.

As a practical result of the work-shop, the ILO Moscow office and UNDP reviewed the cooperation plans for the pilot country in our region - Kyrgyzstan.

In 2007-2010 the ILO and UNDP will implement a programme on youth employment promotion with focus on gender and vulnerable groups. The re-public’s Chui region has also been cho-sen as pilot with special focus on farm-ing and food production including vo-cational skills and marketing.

The ILO will upgrade the SIYB training modules used by UNDP pro-ject, while the UNDP will provide close links between micro-financing and re-ceived training.

In 2007-2008 a second round of the WIND training (self-improvement of living and working conditions in the rural informal sector) in parallel with the employment and poverty project will be implemented in the Chui region.

In May 2007 through December 2008 the ILO and UNDP will outline common approaches to strengthen na-tional response to HIV/AIDS.

In 2007-2010 they will develop la-bour migration policy for Kyrgyzstan as a sending country and conduct consul-tations with Bishkek Office of the Inter-national Organization for Migration. The UNDP will explore the possibility of producing 2008 Human Develop-ment Report on Labour Migration.

ILO National Representative Bolot-bek Orokov will participate in common UN initiatives and UN Theme Groups.■

In mid-May the Regional Modular Training Centre was opened in Baku. The centre will provide services based on modular training to job seekers, mainly to youth from Baku and other regions of Azerbaijan.

Taking part in the inauguration ceremony were Azerbaijani Labour Minister Fizuli Alekperov, UN Resi-dent Coordinator Bruno Pouezat, ILO project coordinator in Azerbaijan Rashad Farajev and governmental offi-cials.

It was mentioned during the cere-mony that the opening of the centre is a remarkable example of cooperation between the International Labour Or-ganization and the United Nations De-velopment Programme.

The role of ILO’s technical assis-tance was highly assessed. This assis-tance is especially important from the point of view of matching labour mar-ket supply and demand and reforming the vocational education training.

The centre can train about 1,200 students in specially equipped class-rooms such as computer and sewing rooms.■

ILO, UNDP mainstreaming Decent Work in United Nations Country Programmes

A conference on Socially Responsi-ble Enterprise Restructuring took place at the press centre of the Georgian Eco-nomic Development Ministry’s national investment agency on April 30.

One of the conference’s organizers was the International Labour Organiza-tion. The ILO has provided assistance to heads of enterprises in a difficult process of restructuring.

The conference focused on the crea-

tion of new jobs and protection of so-cially vulnerable groups of population.

Participants studied examples of successful restructuring experience, discussed stages of this process and its importance for the country’s economy.

Taking part in the conference were representatives of the Georgian govern-ment, experts of non-governmental or-ganizations, embassies and compa-nies.■

F.Alekperov opening the centre

In the modular training centre

Tbilisi hosting conference on socially responsi-ble enterprise restructuring

Modular Training Centre opens in Baku

■ Following a project for Russia’s maritime industry in 2004-2005, the Rus-sian Ministry of Transport has asked ILO’s International Training Centre in Turin to run three courses this year that will contrib-ute to the improvement of the health, safety and working conditions of port workers and to the efficiency and modernization of port operations in the Russian Federation. They are financed by the Flemish Government. Two will be held in Novorossiysk in June, and the third in St. Petersburg in October. The direct beneficiaries will be government officials (inspectors, advisers, trainers) in charge of implementing the labour protec-tion policy, port authorities, managerial and technical staff, and trade union representa-tives in the port sector.

■ More than 70 senior representatives of labour and employers organizations, along with governments, gathered in Ge-neva on 16-18 April for the first major global tripartite discussion on emerging labour and social issues in the booming electronic components manufacturing sec-tor that generates more than a trillion dol-lars in exports each year. According to a new ILO report prepared for the meeting (The production of electronic components for the IT industries: Changing labour

force requirements in a global economy) this growth has also spawned a consider-able number of social and labour chal-lenges, including concerns over working conditions, wage levels, gender issues and management-labour relations.

■ On April 25 the lower house of Ka-zakhstan’s parliament (Majlis) has ap-proved a draft law on ratification of Safety and Health in Construction Convention (C167).This Convention applies to all con-struction activities, namely building, civil engineering, and erection and dismantling work, including any process, operation or transport on a construction site, from the preparation of the site to the completion of the project.

■ On May 15, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a new Labour Code that fixes a new model for legal regu-lation of labour relations. The document is based on the ILO recommendations such as decent and safe working conditions, the right to organize and the right to collective bargaining as well as principles that meet requirements of the international conven-tions, to which Kazakhstan is a signatory.

■ A new ILO study estimates that one in five workers around the world – or over 600 million persons – are still working more than 48 hours a week, often in order to make ends meet. Authors of the new

study, Working Time Around the World: Trends in working hours, laws and policies in a global comparative perspective says shorter hours can have positive conse-quences including benefits to workers’ health and family lives, reduced accidents at the workplace, as well as greater produc-tivity and equality between the sexes.

■ On June 15, the World Bank Moscow office hosted a workshop Rights of Disabled Persons in Russia and E-accessibility. It was organized by the World Bank and the UN Information Centre. It brought together disabled persons, respresentatives of government and the Russian Social Insurance Fund, experts of UN agencies and other non-governmental organizations from all over Russia, and project managers from IT companies, including Microsoft.

At present, 99 countries and regional integration organizations signed the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities that had been opened for signature at the UN headquarteres in New York on April 30. On the list of signatories from the post-Soviet countries are Armenia, Lithuania and Moldova. Fifty-four countries signed the Optional Protocol. Only one country – Jamaica – ratified the new document.

In Brief

Photos: Marcel Crozet, photographer of the ILO Department of Communication in Geneva

ILO Subregional 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: moscow@ilo.org Editor: Elena Iskandarova This newsletter is distributed free of charge. Circulation: 3500 copies On the issue of distribution please contact: +7 (095) 933-0810 or moscow@ilo.org

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