ArmInfo.Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Zaruhi Batoyan, Director of the Europe and Central Asia Regional Office of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Heinz Koler, Chairman of the Republican Union of Employers of Armenia Gagik Makaryan and Head of the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Republic of Armenia signed a national "Decent Work" program, which sets the priorities of the Armenian government in the labor market, goals and expectations for 2019- 2023, and until September of this year expected to develop employment strategies.
According to the head of the Ministry of Labor, the document was the result of the effective cooperation of the department with all social partners and international structures. "With the program, the Armenian government confirms its readiness to adhere to the framework of international conventions in the sphere of labor," Batoyan said, adding that the program is expected to reform labor legislation and revise the entire employment policy. The program will also ensure the protection of the rights of vulnerable groups in the labor market and the realization of equal rights for men and women. "The document will give a new round of the policy of stimulating labor and ensuring a non-discriminatory approach for all participants of the process, proclaimed by the new government of Armenia," the minister said.
According to the representative of the ILO, the program reflects the priorities of the parties, as well as the UN for 2016-2020. The document, as pointed out by Heinz Koller, aims to achieve three main objectives - full regulation of labor relations in accordance with international standards, improvement of employment policy in the republic and the formation of social dialogue. According to him, sustainable growth is impossible without a stable dialogue and the formation of an effective government dialogue with all social partners. "The ILO attaches importance not only to regulation, but to proper regulation of labor relations," Koller said, noting that the ILO will be happy to take part in the revision of the Labor Code, the Labor Inspectorate and the development of the Employment Strategy.
Head of the ILO Moscow office, Olga Kulaeva, in turn, assured that the Organization will do everything possible so that labor legislation in Armenia not only fully complies with ILO standards, but also applied in full.