Economic and Social Council meeting SOCIAL DIALOGUE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE JOBS

Economic and Social Council meeting SOCIAL DIALOGUE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE JOBS

Economic and Social  Council meeting SOCIAL DIALOGUE FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH AND SUSTAINABLE JOBS
декември 28, 2021

The members of the EconomicSocial
Council on the meeting held on 20 of March in hotel Solun agreed that the challenges
faced by the country related to the longrunning
political crisis should not be an obstacle for achieving
and further intensifying of the tripartite social dialogue. Reviewing the results achieved so far from
the functioning of the tripartite social dialogue at national and local level, as well as identifying
the functioning of the tripartite social dialogue at national and local level, as well as identifying
opportunities and priority areas for action in the coming period, these were the main topics at today’s
session of the EconomicSocial
Council (ESC) chaired by the Minister of Labor and Social Policy
Ibrahim Ibrahimi in which actively participated representatives of the representative social partners –
the Organization of Employers of Macedonia, the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia and the
Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Macedonia. “The members of the EconomicSocial
Council
agreed that the challenges faced by the country related to the longrunning
political crisis should not
be an obstacle for achieving and further intensifying of the tripartite social dialogue. The time until
the formation of the new Government should be effectively utilized in order to encourage the
implementation of the already adopted economic and social policies, but also to agree on the next
steps to enable further economic growth of the country, by attracting new investments, creating new
jobs and guarantying the stability and sustainability of the existing ones, in order to raise the living
standards of all citizens and create overall progress in the country,” said Minister of Labor and Social
Policy, Ibrahim Ibrahimi, in his capacity as President of the EconomicSocial
Council (ESC). Referring
to the past work of the ESC, Minister Ibrahimi stated that there is evident progress in both its
institutional reinforcement as well as the fulfilment of its main advisory and consultative role in the
creation and implementation of economic and social strategies and policies. In this area, the ESC
members reviewed and provided opinions, recommendations and support for the implementation of
several projects in the economic and social sphere, such as the project Macedonia Employs, the Youth
Employment Action Plan for the period 2016-2020,
the amendment and the supplementing of the laws
on employment and insurance in case of unemployment, minimum wage, pension and disability
insurance, as well as adoption of the Law on OneOff
Debt WriteOff
for Citizens and the Law on
National Database for People with Disabilities. The ESC members also agreed on the evident progress
in strengthening the institutional capacities of the Council, for which purpose a number of activities
were realized within the project Promoting Social Dialogue financed by the European Union and
implemented by the International Labor Organization (ILO). Thanks to the support and expertise of
the ILO, a Secretariat was formed as a working body of the Council, which got fully equipped and
functional premises and drafted Rules, an annual work program and a communications strategy for
the ESC, as well as tripartite action plans to improve social dialogue and collective bargaining. A fully
functional management system and registry have been put in place to keep track of cases of peaceful
settlement of labor disputes, and in that area training was organized for the members of the Tripartite
Committee on Licensing Mediators and Arbitrators in Labor Disputes. Additionally, for the members of
the ESC, the newly established Secretariat and working groups, effective training was organized on
creating and implementing hiring policies, wages including minimum wages, implementing
international labor standards, gender equality and nondiscrimination,
as well as training in the field
of macroeconomics, the informal economy, occupational safety and health, social security and project
cycle management. For the president and members of the EconomicSocial
Council, all these realized
activities represent a solid basis for the further successful functioning of this institutional body in the
direction of more efficient realization of its key role and mission – strengthening the dialogue
between the representatives of workers, employers and the government in order to achieve social
stability and dynamic economic development of the country.