Trade unions and youth employment: global challenges and new approaches – conference in Baku
The Pan-European Regional Council of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC-PERC) in cooperation with the ILO and the Azerbaijan Trade Union Confederation (AHIK) organized two-day conference “Trade unions and youth employment: global challenges and new approaches” in Baku from July 31 to August 1. The conference was financially supported by the ILO and the ITUC Solidarity Fund. Some fifty participants from ten countries – Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Belgium - took part in the conference.
1 August 2012
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Trade union representatives discussed such issues as the creation of qualitative jobs for youth, solidarity between generations, cooperation with new social movements and focus on youth networks.
Sattar Mekhbalyev, AHIK President, opened the conference and informed about the initiatives to boost employment in Azerbaijan and to increase social protection of young people. Tugba Balci, PERC Youth Committee president, presented YC programme and activities, while Sergeyus Glovackas, ILO Moscow Senior Specialist in Workers’ Activities, introduced the ILO standards important for young workers - Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention,1981 (No.156), Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No.183) and Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No.102) - and urged participants to work on their ratification.
Mohammed Mwamadzingo, Senior Economist of the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV), presented six indicators for youth employment crisis: part-time jobs, informality, social exclusion, marginalization and detachment from labour market, labour education system not matching real labour market need, and the lack of active labour market policies. He emphasized that for trade unions macroeconomic policies should be in focus: employment has to be a target for action, not austerity measures.
Pierre Ledecq, ITUC Youth Committee President, presented trade union work during International Labour Conference this year, which debated youth employment issue. The discussion about youth employment drifts from jobs creation to employability of young people, while the crisis clearly shows that there are simply not enough jobs and decent jobs are not being created. Moreover, more and more jobs are insecure and indecent. Young people are in particular vulnerable and often have a choice between unemployment and low quality jobs.
In a form of a round table participants presented youth employment promotion activities in their countries and the trade unions’ participation in them. Azerbaijan initiates centres for graduates, Kazakhstan’s “Employment 2020 programme” includes diverse measures for young people to combat poverty and unemployment, including internal migration mechanisms. In Georgia certain success was achieved with students’ insurance. In Ukraine the unions want to push for a special chapter in general agreement on youth employment. Moldova operates a system of support – including accommodation, but still the situation is very difficult and young people still flee the country. In Russia the situation is quite diverse regionally, being particularly bad in areas with town-forming enterprises. On the other hand there are a lot of working places in public sector which are not attracting young workers because of low salaries. Some Russian unions are acting as guarantors for young workers mortgage loans.
Participants also decided to prepare a catalogue of trade unions’ actions, the so-called a creativity databank.
Sattar Mekhbalyev, AHIK President, opened the conference and informed about the initiatives to boost employment in Azerbaijan and to increase social protection of young people. Tugba Balci, PERC Youth Committee president, presented YC programme and activities, while Sergeyus Glovackas, ILO Moscow Senior Specialist in Workers’ Activities, introduced the ILO standards important for young workers - Workers with Family Responsibilities Convention,1981 (No.156), Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No.183) and Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No.102) - and urged participants to work on their ratification.
Mohammed Mwamadzingo, Senior Economist of the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV), presented six indicators for youth employment crisis: part-time jobs, informality, social exclusion, marginalization and detachment from labour market, labour education system not matching real labour market need, and the lack of active labour market policies. He emphasized that for trade unions macroeconomic policies should be in focus: employment has to be a target for action, not austerity measures.
Pierre Ledecq, ITUC Youth Committee President, presented trade union work during International Labour Conference this year, which debated youth employment issue. The discussion about youth employment drifts from jobs creation to employability of young people, while the crisis clearly shows that there are simply not enough jobs and decent jobs are not being created. Moreover, more and more jobs are insecure and indecent. Young people are in particular vulnerable and often have a choice between unemployment and low quality jobs.
In a form of a round table participants presented youth employment promotion activities in their countries and the trade unions’ participation in them. Azerbaijan initiates centres for graduates, Kazakhstan’s “Employment 2020 programme” includes diverse measures for young people to combat poverty and unemployment, including internal migration mechanisms. In Georgia certain success was achieved with students’ insurance. In Ukraine the unions want to push for a special chapter in general agreement on youth employment. Moldova operates a system of support – including accommodation, but still the situation is very difficult and young people still flee the country. In Russia the situation is quite diverse regionally, being particularly bad in areas with town-forming enterprises. On the other hand there are a lot of working places in public sector which are not attracting young workers because of low salaries. Some Russian unions are acting as guarantors for young workers mortgage loans.
Participants also decided to prepare a catalogue of trade unions’ actions, the so-called a creativity databank.