The 1st Sitting of the EU-ILO Project Steering Committee / Перше засідання Наглядової ради Проекту ЄС-МОП

Within the EU-ILO Project the Steering Committee was set up and its first sitting was held after the project launch event.
The meeting approved the composition and the Terms of Reference of the Steering Committee, which is vested with the following tasks:

1. To give strategic guidance on project implementation: this can include providing advice on the strategic orientations of the project and proposing adjustments to the workplan to fully achieve the project objective if necessary.
2. To serve as a platform for the tripartite constituents to be updated on the project progress and to share information on on-going and planned activities to promote synergy and coherence.
3. To monitor project implementation by taking an accurate account of implementation of the action, difficulties encountered, changes introduced, as well as the degree of achievement of its results (see Annex 3 for the Regulation on the Steering Committee).

The Steering Committee is composed of the representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Committee for Social Policy, Employment, and Pension Security); the Government of Ukraine (Ministry of Social Policy, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, State Labour Service); employers and trade unions representatives at the national level; the Secretariat of the National Tripartite Social and Economic Board; the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, and the International Labour Organization.

Following the discussion, it was suggested to include a representative of the State Regulatory Service of Ukraine into the Steering Committee. After further consultations with Steering Committee members, the relevant letter was sent to the Head of the Service, and a positive feedback was received (see Annex 4 for the final composition of the Steering Committee).

The Steering Committee considered, discussed and approved the Project Implementation Plan

All the activities will be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Policy and the State Labour Service in order to ensure that the activities are tailored to their needs, as well as to contribute to enhancement of the safety and health system, implementation of labour standards and labour law compliance.
Depending on specifics of each activity within the Project, other CEBs and social partners - representatives of trade unions and employers' organizations - will be engaged into its implementation.

The Project will follow the evidence-based approach and will focus on enhancing capacities of the State Labour Service through education and training.

Project implementation and the planned activities are aimed at achieving the two outcomes:
Outcome 1: Proposed revised legislation, procedures and policies, with a special focus on OSH and labour inspection are in line with the EU acquis and ILO Conventions

Under this outcome, the Project intervention will be twofold.

First, the project will work in close collaboration with law makers and social partners to support their effort to align Ukrainian OSH and selected labour legislation with EU Directives and ILO Conventions.

Second, the project will carry out a review of the current state of affairs of Ukrainian legislation on labour inspection with a view to ascertaining whether the International Labour Standards and the EU minimum requirements are met and observed in real terms.

Proposals and recommendations for implementation of the planned activities

• During the project implementation it should be emphasized that the EU and ILO support in bringing the national occupational safety and health legislation in line with EU directives is provided in the context of implementation of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement, in order to enable Ukraine to meet its commitment to implement EU directives within the due deadlines.
• Involve the representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development and European Integration, the State Regulatory Service into project activities - in particular those focusing on improving the regulatory framework for labour inspection, occupational safety and health - in the light of ILO standards and EU acquis.
• Conduct ongoing monitoring of the Project implementation and adaptation of the activities to the actual needs as identified at the respective moment of time.
• During the development and implementation of the multi-year State Labour Service Strategy to tackle undeclared labour, ensure coordination of the EU-ILO Project with the ILO Project “The effectiveness of the Labour Inspection System and of Social Dialogue Mechanisms is Strengthened” that supports the pilot labour inspection campaign to tackle undeclared labour in 4 oblasts of Ukraine. Its results, lessons learned and outcomes should form the basis for a further multi-year strategy.
• While working on improving the information system of the State Labour Service, exchange information and coordinate with EU-funded projects (through the EU Delegation in Ukraine) providing support to other authorities to improve information bases.

See Annex 5 for the approved project implementation plan.
See Annex 6 for the resolution of the Project Steering Committee.