39th meeting of CIS Consultative Council on Labour, Employment and Social Protection opens in Baku
On 15 October, Baku, Azerbaijan is hosting the 39th meeting of the Consultative Council on Labour, Employment and Social Protection of the Population of CIS Member Nations. Taking part is Margarita Usova, Deputy General Secretary of the General Confederation of Trade Unions (GCTU).
The meeting was opened by Anar Aliyev, Minister of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The agenda covers labour market conditions in CIS countries, the social protection of workers, the digitalisation of public services, the use of artificial intelligence in employment and the development of social partnership.
At the GCTU's initiative, the agenda includes an item on improving the social partnership system of CIS countries. The Confederation has proposed considering the creation of a tripartite platform bringing together representatives of governments, trade unions and employers of the Commonwealth.
"We need a standing mechanism for interaction between governments, trade unions and employers at the CIS level. This will make it possible to develop coordinated decisions on labour relations and to take workers' interests into account as the common labour market develops," Margarita Usova noted.
Such a mechanism would allow the parties to social partnership to jointly develop proposals on regulating labour relations and developing the collective bargaining system at the international level.
The GCTU is also proposing that consideration be given to creating shared information systems containing details of the social guarantees enshrined in collective agreements and contracts. It suggests putting this initiative on the agenda of events in 2028, which has been declared the CIS Year of Social Development and Quality of Life.
In 2025, the GCTU had earlier proposed developing a new edition of the CIS Interparliamentary Assembly's model law "On Social Partnership", which should reflect modern forms of labour relations and advances in digital technology.
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