Social Partnership

13.02.2017

The Collective Agreement:Guarantees Expanded.

Last week the conference of employees-members of the initial trade union organization of Bogatyr Komir LLP was held. The main issue in the agenda was the acceptance of the Collective Agreement for 2017–2021.

118 delegates from 119 elected ones took part in the work of the trade union conference. The invitees were General Director of Bogatyr Komir LLP Serik Raipov, Deputy General Director Sergey Platonov, Chairman of Ekibastuz Territorial Council of the Branch Trade Union of coal industry employees Nikolay Popov, heads of directorates and structural subdivisions of the partnerships.

Opening the work of the meeting the Chairman of the Trade Union Committee of the partnership Kairula Turatayev suggested electing the composition of the working organs of the conference: presidium, secretariat, editorial, credentials, and counting commissions. Having approved the agenda and standing orders of the conference, the delegates listened to the information of Personnel and Social Policy Director Nurlan Mukulov on the fulfillment of the provisions of the acting Collective Agreement by the company administration for the reporting period.

After that the draft new Collective Agreement on social and economic issues between the administration and the initial trade union organization of Bogatyr Komir LLP for 2017–2021 was presented to the forum participants by the Chairman of the trade union organization Kairula Turatayev. During his speech Kairula Turatayev underlined that the commission created on a parity basis had been working on the draft collective agreement for over three months. The trade union committee summarized all the proposals collected from the structural subdivisions of the company. Kairula Turatayev made a point that in the process of development of the new agreement the working group managed not only preserve the content of the existing document but significantly expand a package of social guarantees. Particularly speaking, currently according to the new wording of the document the employees of Bogatyr Komir LLP having grandchildren can buy passes to Karlygash children health center for them at the discount of 50%, subject to availability of passes. Social transfers were also significantly changed. For example, the increase touched a size of annual one-time financial assistance rendered to large families with income per capita below a minimal salary set up in the Republic of Kazakhstan, and also for families with not less than three children under 18 years old – up to five specified rates for a third child and following children under the age of 18, on the basis of an information note on a family composition and a copy of a birth certificate submitted. Besides, a size of monthly financial assistance to non-working single mothers (being on maternity leave) went up from three to five thousand tenge until their children are three years old. Besides, a similar increase touched annual one-time financial assistance to single mothers, widows, widowers having children from 3 to 18 years old, and upbringing children alone - on the basis of 5 thousand tenge for every child, on the basis of an information note on a family composition and a copy of children birth certificates submitted.

For the employees having taken part in the military actions in Afghanistan an additional paid vacation for 7 calendar days is envisaged.  

The new collective agreement also expands the provisions of the acting labor legislation significantly in part of payments for work on holidays and days off. For example, if by the Labor Code work on holidays and days off is paid at 1,5 times the normal rate, then by the collective agreement - at double the normal rate.

Veterans were also not forgotten while development of the new Collective Agreement.

Non-working pensioners and disabled people having the work experience over 5 years in the structural subdivisions of SJSC Ekibastuzkomir and Bogatyr Komir LLP and celebrating jubilee dates, beginning from 55 and more years will be paid social assistance. For example, in connection with the 55-th anniversary the amount of a payment will be 5 thousand tenge, 60-th anniversary - 6 thousand tenge, 65-th anniversary - 7 thousand tenge, 70-th anniversary and more significant dates - 8 thousand tenge. In whole, the size of this social payment doubled in the new agreement.

The size of an interest-free loan allocated in case of death of an employee, his close relatives (spouse, children, parents), pensioner registered in the Public Fund of Bogatyr Komir LLP went up from 40 thousand to 100 thousand tenge.

It is worth being noted specifically that the validity of the new collective agreement is spread to the employer and employees-members of the initial trade union organization of Bogatyr Komir LLP. According to the agreement provisions, the employer acknowledges the initial trade union organization of Bogatyr Komir LLP represented by its chairman, as an equal party and united representative of employees-members of the initial trade union organization of Bogatyr Komir LLP for conducting negotiations and concluding a collective agreement.      

At the same time the new Collective Agreement envisages social privileges for the employees not being members of the initial trade union organization of Bogatyr Komir LLP. But only subject to the condition that they are not registered in another trade union and pay 1% of their salary to the settlement account to provide their rights and protect interests. 

In contrast to the previous collective agreements accepted for three years with prolongation for two subsequent years, the validity term of the current one is five years.

The member of the trade union of Bogatyr Loading and Transportation Department Aleksandr Nazarenko spoke in the plenary part of the conference. In his speech he gave the high evaluation to the work of the joint commission, which had coordinated the provisions of the new Collective agreement, and suggested accepting the draft agreement in the presented wording. During the conference the delegates also expressed their opinions and proposals on some problematic issues. Answers were given to all of them, concrete assignments were also given.

The draft decree of the trade union conference was submitted by Sergey Mikhailyuk, Chairman of Trade Union Committee of Bogatyr coal mine, for its consideration by the conference participants. The delegates voted for this decree and the new Collective agreement on regulation of labor, social and economic relations for 2017-2021 between the administration of the partnership and the initial trade union organization of Bogatyr Komir LLP unambiguously. The agreement on the social partnership was signed by General Director of Bogatyr Komir LLP Serik Raipov and the Chairman of the Trade Union Committee of the initial trade union organization of Bogatyr Komir LLP Kairula Turatayev.

The Chairman of the territorial council Nikolay Popov congratulated the conference participants with the acceptance of the new social agreement.

Kanat ALDABAYEV

Photo by Oleg MALCHUK.