A conference on “The impact of climate change on labor protection” was held in Nakhchivan with the joint organization of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the State Labor Inspection Service under the Ministry and the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The conference is dedicated to April 28 – World Labor Protection Day and 100 years of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.
Fuad Najafli, authorized representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, spoke about the 100-year history of autonomy of Nakhchivan MR. He drew attention to the unparalleled services of National Leader Heydar Aliyev in the development of the autonomous republic. F. Najafli noted the dynamic and comprehensive progress of Azerbaijan as a result of the successful domestic and foreign policy of President Ilham Aliyev, including continuous development processes in Nakhchivan MR. He pointed out the consequences of climate change, the fact that labor protection has become even more relevant against the background of climate changes, and in this regard, the importance of this conference currently held in Nakhchivan city.
Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Sahil Babayev said that our country will host COP29 this year as the most important event of 2024 for Azerbaijan. In accordance with this mission, he pointed out that 2024 was declared the “Year of Solidarity for the Green World” in Azerbaijan by the Decree of President Ilham Aliyev. The minister said that the impact of climate change on labor protection in various ways makes it more urgent to ensure the health and safety of workers, and the current conference serves to further increase the attention of society, especially employers, to this topic. He noted that the motto set by the International Labor Organization (ILO) for the World Labor Protection Day for 2024 is “The impact of climate change on labor protection”.
- Babayev pointed out that our country has ratified about 60 ILO Conventions, including documents related to labor protection, reforms in the social field, and the successes of the digitization program. He noted the establishment of the Labor Protection Center, which aims to support employers in labor protection, and the activity of the Technical Committee on standardization in the field of labor. He emphasized that the educational work conducted between workers and employers regarding labor protection also covers our territories freed from occupation.
Chairman of Azerbaijan Trade Unions Confederation (AHIK), member of the Milli Majlis, Sattar Mohbaliyev, noted in his speech that one of the important tasks facing trade unions is to exercise public control over the creation of healthy and safe working conditions at workplaces. According to him, during 2023, labor inspectors and public commissioners carrying out public control conducted public inspection work in 448 enterprises and organizations, 12 of which were held jointly with state control bodies: “During the inspections, technical labor inspectors found 1641 ( 28) violations were detected in Nakhchivan MR, 274 (24 in Nakhchivan MR) presentations were given to employers. 86.59% of detected violations (92% for Nakhchivan MR) were eliminated.
In order to draw attention to the provision of decent working conditions, it has become a tradition to hold a competition for the title of “The best enterprise (organization) of the year for creating healthy and safe working conditions” every year, starting from 2009, at the initiative of AHIK. The main goal of the competition is to create healthy and safe working conditions for employees, and at the same time to increase the responsibility of those working in this field, to achieve a more serious approach of employers to labor protection issues. This year, 67 of the 2,560 enterprises and organizations that participated in this competition were declared winners. S. Mohbaliyev emphasized that more than 25,000 enterprises and organizations participated in the said competition over the course of 15 years, 645 of them were honored with this high title and awarded with honorary certificates and valuable gifts.
Chairman of the Labor and Social Policy Committee of the Milli Majlis, Member of the Milli Majlis Musa Guliyev, Vice-President of the National Confederation of Entrepreneurs (Employers) Organizations of Azerbaijan Vugar Abbasov, Head of the Main Department of Labor Protection and Safety of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Turkey Muhammed Fatih Alodali, Labor of the Islamic Labor Organization General Director of the Secretariat of the Center Azer Bayramov, ILO Coordinator for Azerbaijan Yashar Hamzayev spoke and emphasized the importance of the held conference. Later, Joakim Pintado Nunes, head of the Labor Inspection and Labor Protection Division of the ILO Labor Administration, made a video address to the conference participants. At the event, employers with positive experience in the field of labor protection and NGOs contributing to public education about labor and social rights were awarded.
Panel discussions were held on the topics of “current challenges in ensuring labor protection conditions against the backdrop of climate change” and “perspectives in the field of labor protection in Nakhchivan MR”.
After the conference, a tree-planting action was held in Nakhchivan with the participation of people with disabilities as a contribution to the “Year of Solidarity for the Green World”. The action aimed to draw the public’s attention to the health of the environment, to restore and increase greenery, to contribute to the protection of the environment and the fight against climate change.