A Memorandum of cooperation was signed between the Ministry of labour and Social Protection of Population and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Azerbaijan (ATUC) to assist in the organization of self-employment of vulnerable population groups.
The document was signed by Minister of labour and social protection of population Sahil Babayev and chairman of ATUC, MP Sattar Mohbaliyev.
S.Babayev said that according to the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev, social protection and active employment programs are being expanded every year. He noted that in 2021, more than 16 thousand people were involved in the self-employment program, this indicator was 2017 times higher than in 14 when the implementation of the program began. He said that over the past 4 years, up to 50 thousand families have been involved in the self-employment program and created small family farms.
The minister emphasized that priority was given to the families of martyrs and war participants in the implementation of the program. He noted that in the period after the 44-day Patriotic War, which ended with our victory, 8 thousand people from these categories were involved in the self-employment program. S.Babayev said that active cooperation with social partners, including ATUC, was carried out in the expansion of the self-employment program.
He stressed that the new memorandum, which is another expression of support for the initiative to share Social Responsibility, provides the basis for continuing cooperation in this area.
The Chairman of AHIK, MP of the Milli Majlis, Sattar Mohbaliyev spoke in detail about the successful social policy implemented in our country under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev, and the purposeful measures taken to further improve people’s well-being. He noted that special attention is paid to self-employment of vulnerable groups, all opportunities are mobilized for their social protection and improvement of living conditions. The Confederation of Trade Unions of Azerbaijan constantly joins and supports these programs, after that it increases its activity in this field, and constantly supports the policy and calls of the head of the country in the social field. The chairman of AHIK also emphasized that all government and non-government organizations should always keep all our citizens in need of social protection under their care and attention. He noted that the activities of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation led by First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva in this field have become an example not only in our country, but also outside our country.
Then Sattar Mohbaliyev gave detailed information about the measures taken by ATUC and member organizations during the pandemic, the Patriotic War and the subsequent period. He noted that since 2020, 18295540 Manats have been spent in connection with the coronavirus pandemic. In particular, 5545406 Manats were spent for low-income families, 9646554 Manats in the form of material assistance, 1765608 Manats for protective equipment. 632972 Manats were transferred to the coronavirus Support Fund, 705000 Manats to the Regional Development Public Association of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, and 658870 Manats to the “Yashat” Fund. The chairman of the ATUC noted that from 2020 to the present, a total of 9842834 Manats were spent on the army, the front line, families of martyrs and veterans. In particular, the Armed Forces Assistance Fund provided 1036815 manat, martyr families and veterans-2816265 manat. 658000 Manats were donated to the” Karabakh Revival ” Fund, 250000 Manats to the Nakhchivan AR, 1765724 Manats to the Armed Forces and the frontline. In total, 28138374 Manats were provided for these purposes by ATUC and member organizations.
S.Mohbaliyev noted that the cooperation agenda of ATUC and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of population is broad. He also noted that recently the experience of cooperation in supporting self-employment of vulnerable groups has been formed. He noted that the new document signed is another indicator of the close participation of the Confederation in the provision of vulnerable population groups with social support in our country.
It should be noted that last year the Confederation supported the work to assist in the organization of self-employment of vulnerable population groups. As part of this support, 27 people from vulnerable groups were involved in the self-employment program and small family farms were created for them. 14 of them are members of the family of martyrs and participants of the war.
The new Memorandum was signed in the organization of self-employment of vulnerable groups, the choice of self-employment for program participants, the preparation of a business plan and support for conducting trainings, the presentation of assets to program participants, monitoring the implementation of business plans, etc. it implies cooperation between the two institutions.