Cooperation priorities discussed in Bishkek

Meeting with Mr Aliyasbek Alymkulov, Minister of Labour, Migration and Youth Meeting with Mr Kudaibergen Bazarbaev, Minister of Social Development

The purpose of the visit was to discuss priorities for the ILO-Kyrgyzstan cooperation and to take part in the roundtable meeting on Analysis of Training Needs of the Vocational Education System. The event was organized within the framework of the ILO technical cooperation project “Applying the G20 Training Strategy” funded by the government of the Russian Federation.

During the meeting with Mr Aliyasbek Alymkulov, Minister of Labour, Migration and Youth, the parties stressed the need for cooperation on such national priorities as employment policy, including youth employment, improvement of the labour market information system, further development of the vocational training system, preparation of a national profile on occupational safety and health, and development of a national occupational safety management system. The parties particularly emphasized the importance of further promoting tripartite social dialogue as a tool to define and implement labour and social policy and to consolidate democratic processes.

The meeting with Mr Kudaibergen Bazarbaev, Minister of Social Development, was equally productive. The parties formulated the following areas of cooperation: social protection floors, including social protection system survey; disability policy; elimination of the worst forms of child labour; gender equality and work-family balance.

Ms Dimitrova had individual meetings with Mr Asylbek Toktogulov, Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions, Mr Alybek Kadyrov, Chairman of the National Confederation of Employers, Ms Elmira Dunganaeva, Secretary-General of the Confederation, and Mr. Beishen Oskonbaev, President of the Federation of Manufacturing Employers “Guild of Directors”. The parties agreed to further develop capacity of trade unions and employers’ organizations, strengthen their role in the national tripartite structures.

In her opening remarks to the roundtable meeting on Analysis of Training Needs of the Vocational Education System, Ms Dimitrova stressed the importance of discussing national priorities in the skills development sphere and of defining concrete steps to develop a national vocational education and training system. The ILO project was viewed as one of the tools to achieve aims and objectives of the state employment and skills development policies and programmes, she said.

Dimitrina Dimitrova also visited secondary school No 21 in Bishkek, a pilot site for the ILO-IPEC Project “Supporting the reinforcement and integration of the Child Labour Monitoring System (CLMS) to child protection framework in Bishkek Municipality” and one of successful garment factories, Larisa Fashion, that proved that decent work and respect for workers’ rights helped achieve higher productivity and competitiveness.