The chairman of the Milli Majlis Labour and Social Policy Committee Musa Guliyev announced at the committee meeting held on 7 December that the agenda consisted of three items being amendments to several laws.

It was Adil Valiyev, the head of the Social Legislation Department of the Milli Majlis Staff, who supplied the meeting participants with information about the amendments.

First, the draft amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Law were tabled in the first reading, with Mr Valiyev telling about the new provisions suggesting an enlarged coverage of persons on the unemployment dole, the shortened period of employment required under termed labour contracts and cancellation of the three-month insurance compensation waiting time upon the occurrence of the insured cases. At the same time, it is proposed to reduce the employment track record mandatory for term labour contracts. In the cases provided for in the relevant article of the law, the minimum insurance coverage is to be made available to employable persons with track records under term labour agreements of at least 30 months during the subsequent 36 months of employment precedent to the date of occurrence of the insured case – whereas the currently effective edition of the law stipulates a 35-month-long track record.

As regards the first-reading amendments to the Employment Law, it is proposed to entitle to the gratis vocational training those job-seekers who possess arable land but have no other engagements. It follows from the draft stipulations that such persons would be paid a certain allowance and become engaged for paid public works and self-employment activities while they are attending the vocational training courses.

Both Bills follow the presidential decree No 1233 dated 30 December 2020 ‘On Application of the Law of the Azerbaijan Republic No 235-VIQ dated 29 December 2020 “On the 2021 Budget of the Unemployment Insurance Fund”’.

Next, the draft amendment (in the second reading) to the Code of Administrative Offences was brought before the participants of the meeting. It consists in the new Article 539.1-1 whereby a failure to carry out the compulsory decisions of the appropriate executive authority organ regarding the fulfilment of the labour legislation requirements about the grounds for conclusion, modification and termination of labour contracts as well as to grant the rights to leave, remuneration, holiday allowance and other allowances, coverage of business trip expenses and other payments shall entail the fines in the corresponding amounts of AZN 1,000 and AZN 2,000 for office-holders and legal entities. Besides, several articles of the Code are to be amended with one expressions and terms to be replaced with new ones.

The new article of the law pursues the goal of restoring the employer rights infringed upon in the course of labour/employment relations and to motivate employers to set those rights in place instead of having to pay the aforementioned fines.

The amendments to all the three laws will bring about a better protection of the social and labour rights of the employed as well as of the yet unemployed citizens, according to Musa Guliyev.

Positive responses, remarks and suggestions were made by the deputy committee chair Malahat Ibrahimghizi and the committee members Ilham Mammadov, Jala Ahmadova, Vugar Bayramov, Arzu Naghiyev, Sevinj Huseynova, Soltan Mammadov, Aghil Mammadov and Aziz Alakbarov. Musa Guliyev made his comments in response.

Chairman of the Board of the State Employment Agency Mustafa Abbasbayli who was present at the committee meeting put forth his own ideas about the Bills and clarified some points indicated by the MPs.

In the end, it was recommended to bring the first-reading amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Law and the Employment Law as well as the second-reading amendment to the Code of Administrative Offences before the Milli Majlis at the next sitting in plenary.

The Press and Public Relations Department
The Milli Majlis