NEWSLETTER ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Offi ce for Eastern Europe and Central Asia #4(51) December 2012 International high-level conference on decent work takes place in Moscow and fully take on board the labour and em- and that social dialogue was crucial for a ployment policies that are an essential part of sound design of the policies.” the response to economic crisis.” Among other issues, delegates agreed on the “Together, here in Moscow, we can send out need for core labour standards; for labour very important messages: that whatever the markets to be adaptable to promote recovery diffi culties, the ILO stays fi rm in its commit- and inclusive economic growth, while rein- ment to social justice and to decent work. forcing respect for rights; to tailor occupation- Because it is precisely these values, unchang- al safety and health programmes for small and ing, which show us the way out of this crisis medium sized enterprises in the context of the as they have out of past crises,” he said. ongoing economic and social crisis; to have Guy Ryder particularly wel- The International High-Level Conference on comed the decision to hold Decent Work organized by the Russian gov- a joint G20 Finance and ernment with the support of the International Labour Ministers’ Confer- Labour Organization took place in Moscow ence under the Russian on December 11-12. It concluded its two-day Presidency. meeting by highlighting the increased conver- UN Secretary-General Ban gence of countries’ economic and social poli- Ki-moon sent his greetings cies with the ILO’s Decent Work Agenda. to the international high- Some 900 high-level representatives from level conference on decent 80 countries attended the conference which, work noting that “employ- among other issues, discussed the impact of ment is a critical pathway to globalization on labour markets and labour poverty reduction and eco- standards. nomic empowerment.” Panel discussions were devoted to such issues “The creation of decent jobs as the role of labour standards and their infl u- continues to be a high prior- ence on the economic growth; the creation ity for the United Nations,” The conference’s Presidium (from left to right): Mikhail Shmakov, chairman of adaptable labour markets and protection Ban Ki-moon said. of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia, Guy Ryder, ILO of workers’ rights; safe and protected work- Director-General, Maxim Topilin, Minister of Labour and Social Protection, Russian Deputy Prime Min- places; proper social protection of workers in Olga Golodets, Deputy Prime Minister, Andrei Denisov, First Deputy ister Olga Golodets reported the post-crisis economic recovery. They also Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alexander Shokhin, president of the Russian at the conference that unem- Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs focused on demographic trends and effective ployment in Russia is cur- regulation of labour migration to ensure a bal- rently the lowest since the Soviet era and will social security systems acting as automatic so- ance on the labour market; youth employment be maintained at this level in 2013. cial and economic stabilizers in times of crisis; promotion and job encouragement through for a more integrated approach to promote entrepreneurship development and expansion She emphasised that the creation of well-paid youth employment and for the improvement of small and medium businesses. jobs with comfortable working conditions for Russian citizens should be an absolute priority of the business-enabling environment, includ- for the government. ing social dialogue between government and social partners. ILO Deputy-Director General, Sandra Po- laski, stressed the need for more quality jobs: “Speakers agreed that it was useful to learn from positive reform experiences in this area Guy Ryder: “Whatever the diffi cul- ties, the ILO stays fi rm Noting that Russia is taking over the G20 Presidency, ILO Director-General Guy Ryder in its commitment to said: “I am absolutely convinced that Russia social justice and to de- will play a key role in pursuing the progress In the conference’s hall an exhibition of the ILO’s accomplished by previous G20 Presidencies cent work. ” publications was organized Newsletter #4(51) December 2012 ILO and Russian Federation launch new strategic era of cooperation The International Labour Organization and relations in the Russian Federation with a view known as Skolkovo, in partnership with the the Russian Federation have launched a new to achieving decent work. International Labour Organization. strategic era of cooperation with the signing The following key priorities have been agreed The G20 Training Strategy for a Skilled Work- of three key agreements on the sidelines of upon by the government and the social part- force for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced the conference on decent work. ners: to increase employment opportunities Growth was prepared by the International The agreements aim at further promoting and create better jobs; to ensure safe working Labour Organization. decent work in the Russian Federation, help- conditions and enhance social protection; and Leaders at the 2010 G20 summit in Seoul ing other countries to improve delivery of to promote international labour standards, and pledged to support countries in implementing skills for employment, and promote youth strengthen social dialogue. skills for employment, building on the Train- employment. It continues previous coopera- ing Strategy. tion programmes and takes into The agreement promotes innovative pro- account the impact of the global grammes that aim to bridge education and crisis, the economic recovery training, to expand growth and economic and globalization of the labour diversifi cation and to create more and better market. jobs. Russia supports G20 ILO-Lukoil partnership in Training Strategy as youth employment ILO donor The International Labour Organization and The second document is an agree- Lukoil have signed a partnership agreement ment between the International to start global cooperation that will permit Labour Organization and the the two partners to initially work in three ar- Ministry of Finance of the Rus- eas – youth employment, shared expertise and sian Federation. It applies the G20 training – before expanding into additional ones. The Programme of Cooperation was signed by (from left to right): Training Strategy in three coun- tries of the Commonwealth of Alexander Shokhin, president of the Russian Union of Industrialists Lukoil agreed to support the International and Entrepreneurs, Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, Maxim Independent States (CIS), Jordan Topilin, Minister of Labour and Social Relations, Mikhail Shmakov, and Vietnam. Labour Organization in the design and imple- chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia mentation of a technical cooperation project In May 2012, the Russian parlia- entitled “Partnerships for youth employ- ment approved US$ 8 million for the project, ment in the Commonwealth of Independent ILO-Russia Programme of which is expected to run for three years. States”. Cooperation for 2013-2016 It is the Russian government’s fi rst technical Lukoil also agreed to cooperate with the ILO’s The main objective of the ILO-Russia Pro- project with the ILO. Bureau for Employers’ Activities on training gramme of Cooperation for 2013-2016 is to Key aspects of the project will be implement- programmes, and to start a close collaboration promote the further development of labour ed by the Moscow School of Management, for sharing expertise. ■ ILO Director-General holds important meetings in Moscow During his visit to Russia ILO Director- Trade Unions of Russia Mikhail Shmakov and “We consider the ILO’s work very useful, General Guy Ryder met with Russian Prime president of the Confederation of Labour of we take part in its programmes and we have Minister Dmitry Medvedev, First Deputy Russia, Boris Kravchenko. ratifi ed a large number of ILO conventions, Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Denisov, although the efforts to modernise our legisla- and ILO tripartite constituents - Minister of Guy Ryder meets Russian tion are not over yet and we will continue to Labour and Social Protection Maxim Topilin, Prime Minister do this with due regard for the priorities set president of the Russian Union of Industrial- Dmitry Medvedev emphasized that “Russia by the International Labour Organization,” ists and Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, has always been and will remain an active par- he said. chairman of the Federation of Independent ticipant in the ILO’s events.” Continued on Page 3 2 ILO Decent Work Technical Support Team and Country Offi ce for Eastern Europe and Central Asia ILO Director-General holds Guy Ryder gives interviews to important meetings in Moscow leading media Continued from Page 2 “This experience allowed to develop pro- Guy Ryder said in turn, “the ILO has solid grammes that were launched as anti-crisis relations with the Russian Federation, and our measures and to integrate them into the cur- rent policy on the labour market,” he said. Dmitry Medvedev: “This includes support for unemployed per- sons in starting their business and creating “Russia has always been specialized workplaces for disabled persons,” and will remain an active Topilin said. Guy Ryder also held constructive and fruitful participant in the ILO’s meetings with heads of the employers’ and events.” workers’ organizations - Alexander Shokhin, Guy Ryder gave an exclusive interview to Mikhail Shmakov and Boris Kravchenko. the Echo of Moscow radio station. The meeting is a good opportunity to exchange discussion focused on problems of the views and further strengthen our relations.” Talks at Russian Ministry of global unemployment, in particular the Meetings with ILO Foreign Affairs growing unemployment among youth, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs An- remuneration, labour migration and the constituents drei Denisov and Guy Ryder exchanged opin- reform of Russia’s pension system (watch Minister of Labour and Social Protection ions on the state of relations between Russia and listen to the interview at www.echo.