Decent Work Programme for Tajikistan signed in Dushanbe
On 10 February, 2011, in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, the tripartite partners – the Government, employers’ and workers' organizations - and the ILO signed a Memorandum of Understanding on a Decent Work Country Programee (DWCP) for the years 2011-2013.
10 February 2011
A sustainable trend of economic rehabilitation has been observed in Tajikistan since 1997. However, due to the global financial and economic crisis, contracting demand for the country’s major exports and declining world market prices of aluminum and cotton, the budget shortfall is USD 530 million and the overall industrial production decline is 6.3%. Overall, the foreign trade turnover fell 23.6%. A lower demand for migrant workers in Russia was another negative impact of the global crisis on Tajikistan. Over seven months of 2009, cash transfers fell by more than 34.1% as compared to the same period of the previous year.
The new Decent Work Programme aims to address a wide range of the country’s challenges in the social and labour sphere. The Programme priorities include increasing capacity of tripartite constituents to manage labour issues through social dialogue, and improving working and employment conditions, as well as extending the coverage of social protection.
The current situation in the Tajik labour market and the lack of new jobs is largely compensated by labour migration which became widespread over the last years, with, for example, more than 600 thousand people having left the country for Russia in 2009. Labour migration is affecting all aspects of life. That is why within the new Decent Work Country Programme the ILO will assist its partners in promoting decent employment opportunities for men and women, including returning labour migrants.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr. Mahmadamin Mahmadaminov, Minister of Labour and Social Protection of Tajikistan, expressed confidence in the successful realization of the DWCP provisions. The Ministry has already initiated a joint task force to draft a DWCP work plan with concrete activities in the priority areas, he said.
Mr. Evgueni Davydov, Director of the ILO Decent Work Technical Support and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, particularly noted a very intense preparatory work of all social partners on the Decent Work Programme that was conducted with the ILO technical support.
On behalf of the social partners the Programme was signed by Mr. Azizbek Sharipov, Chairman of Employer`s Union, and Mr. Murodali Salikhov, Chairman of Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Tajikistan.