Address of chairman of Azerbaijan Trade Unions Confederation,Member of Parliament, S.Mohbaliyev in the meeting of labor relations regulation and Coordination Commission
25 Dec 2018
Today, at the meeting of the commission, we have listened the speech of chairman, Mr. Ali and the reports of heads of respective ministerial working groups on the done work about the Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Approval of the Action Plan on the Prevention of Non-formal Employment in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the forthcoming duties in connection with the execution of the Order.
Of course, the work done in the implementation of the
Action Plan is commendable and will continue.
At the same time, I would like to note that our employees
of the commission, its working group has made their views and suggestions on the
Plan of Actions 1.2, 1.8, 1.9, 1.12, 4.5. Regarding the implementation of the
measures envisaged in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article, although we are not
the main executive side there.
As you know, today no any country in the world can argue
that unofficial employment has been completely eliminated there. Because in
some cases the workers themselves are also interested in this problem. It is no
secret that wages in the informal economy are higher than in some areas of the
formal economy, and on the other hand, labor market tensions also have an
impact on it. From this point of view, some of the employers are satisfied with
the salary they earn by working on our "day" and overlooked in the
future social security or social insurance, or in some cases they are forced to
work in the informal economy as they have difficulty finding jobs in the formal
economy.
I would like to note that the issue of transition from
the unofficial economy to the formal economy in Azerbaijan was discussed at the
meeting of the Azerbaijani Social and Economic Commission on May 11, 2018.
Colin Williams, a professor at Sheffield University, an ILO expert on the
issue, made a report. First of all, the professor emphasized that all issues
were covered in detail in the "Action Plan on the Prevention of Non-formal
Employment in the Republic of Azerbaijan" approved by the Presidential
Decree of October 9, 2017. Then, by explaining the ILO approach to the issue,
he gave detailed information on the types of economic activities identified in
Recommendation 204.
The expert stressed the importance of a preventive
measure to increase the efficiency of electronic systems in order to implement
control and encouragement measures to reduce the unofficial economy. He
emphasized that campaign and awareness raising activities were more effective.
The expert also had recommendations to the Tripartite
Commission on Social and Economic Affairs. In his opinion, the commission's
opening of interdepartmental strategic goals and targets for the relevant
ministries, committees, and the field opened great opportunities for the
interaction of these institutions. It has been admitted that, in a few
countries in the world, there are mutually beneficial co-operation among such partners
in Azerbaijan, which is highly appreciated.
Azerbaijan trade unions are active in this area,
considering the informal economy education as an important factor.
We strive to make maximum use of our potential in this
regard as well as the opportunities of the International Labor Organization and
the International Trade Union Confederation. In recent years, 11 events
(seminars and conferences) have been held in the area of informal economy and
unemployment reduction. Experts from local and international organizations,
along with representatives of social workers, heads of trade unions and
activists, gave their suggestions and recommendations before the audience.
The last event in this direction was held on June 18-19,
with the participation of 80 people, on the topic of "The role of trade
unions in the implementation of the Action Plan and Action Plan of the Republic
of Azerbaijan on informal sector registration" together with ATUC and ILO.
International and Independent Expert Ilkin Nazarov, as well as representatives
of our social workers, participated in the conference. A number of suggestions
have been made by the audience.
I would like to convey these proposals to the members of
the Commission. I think that in the future, we can take some steps towards
their realization. This can have a positive effect on the implementation of the
Action Plan.
These suggestions are as follows:
- Encourage workers to formalize labor relations
(pensions, allowances, sickness sheets, accurate working hours, etc.);
- The discrepancy between the offer and demand in the
labor market and the field of employees
