Author: Tatyana Gracheva
New rules for the employment of Ukrainian citizens in Poland. What is important to know?
Working in Poland remains highly accessible for Ukrainians, especially under the special law. The main thing is to keep an eye on notifications from employers and not be afraid to ask about this during the recruitment process. However, new rules for employing foreigners came into force in the country on 1 June. Find out what […]
Read morePriority tasks for ensuring safe working conditions in production are outlined during the year of vocational professions
Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov chaired a government session focused on ensuring safe working conditions in production and the digitalization of the labor sector.
As the head of the Government noted during the meeting, the Head of State set specific tasks to raise the prestige of the Working Person by declaring 2025 the Year of Vocational Professions.
Аccording to Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population Svetlana Zhakupova, the measures being taken have led to a decrease in workplace injuries by 16.9% as of May 1, 2025, compared to the same period in 2024.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan calls for using modern approaches to ensuring workplace safety.
Bektenov reminded that outdated equipment, delayed modernization, and the absence of new technologies often lead to an increase in injuries. Therefore, early warning and danger alert systems help respond quickly in case of emergency risks. Also, employers are obliged to ensure labor safety, automation, and digitalization that eliminate injuries and, especially, human fatalities to reduce injuries and accidents.
As the Prime Minister noted, it is necessary to develop a unified approach to organizing labor protection and to ensure the interconnection of information systems in this area. Simultaneously, of all government bodies, regional akimats, and enterprises must work together. He also drew attention to strengthening the monitoring of labor law violations, including through the use of the Digital Map of Enterprises. Bektenov instructed the Ministry of Digital Development, together with government bodies, to create an integrated digital ecosystem in the field of labor protection by December 1 of this year.
He emphasized the extremely important role of employers’ participation in labor protection matters, as they must ensure the conclusion of mandatory insurance contracts for employees against workplace accidents. Olzhas Bektenov added that enterprises should actively implement the principle of zero injuries, as well as an assessment and management system of occupational risks that meet international standards.
After the Government session, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population and relevant government agencies got the instructions to develop legislative amendments by November 1 of the current year to prevent employers from concealing workplace injuries.
Also, the Ministry of Industry and Construction got the instructions to ensure the mandatory installation of special equipment for occupational safety and health at enterprises in the industrial and construction sectors by the end of the year.
Finally, the task of the Ministry for Emergency Situations was to inspect enterprises for compliance with industrial safety standards by the end of the current year.
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Read moreSerbian government abolishes incentives for employers hiring newly settled individuals
The Serbian government has adopted a Regulation terminating the validity of the Regulation on the criteria for awarding incentives to employers who hire newly settled individuals in the country, citing an increase in both the number of employers applying for subsidies and the number of individuals settling in Serbia. According to the press release, this […]
Read moreYear of Vocational Professions: Olzhas Bektenov Outlined Priority Tasks for Ensuring Safe Working Conditions in Production
At a Government session chaired by Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov, issues of ensuring safe working conditions in production and the digitalization of the labor sector were discussed. During the meeting, the head of the Government noted that the Head of State, by declaring 2025 the Year of Vocational Professions, set specific tasks to raise the […]
Read more“Georgia’s economy has no chance of cutting poverty and stopping migration” – Demur Giorkhelidze
Economist Demur Giorkhelidze says in a conversation with Commersant that the country has no chance to make progress in reducing poverty. The economist comments on the Prime Minister’s statement, where Irakli Kobakhidze noted that the government’s goal is to cut unemployment to below 4% by 2028. “Everything is in the hands of the government, the […]
Read more85 enterprises in Kazakhstan accumulated wage arrears of T814 million
As of June 1, 2025, state labor inspectors at 85 enterprises have identified wage arrears to more than 2 thousand employees in the amount of T814 million, reports the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of the Population of Kazakhstan. “During the inspections carried out in various organizations, about 2.4 thousand violations of labor rights […]
Read moreUkrainian refugee labour market access shows no impact on local employment outcomes in Czechia
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine sparked Europe’s largest refugee crisis since WWII. Unlike past waves of migrants, Ukrainian refugees gained immediate labour market access through the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive, offering a unique policy test. This column finds that the resulting labour force increase had no economically meaningful impact on employment, unemployment, or inactivity rates […]
Read moreUnemployment below 4% and average salary above 3,500 GEL by 2028 are the programmatic goals
As Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said during a government meeting, elimination of poverty once and for all and economic growth are key national goals. The programmatic goal is to reduce unemployment below 4% and to raise the average salary above 3,500 GEL by 2028.
As Kobakhidze said, continuation of Georgia’s economic development is very important, as the country is a leader not only in the broader region but also across Europe in terms of economic growth.
The Prime Minister reported that the economic growth in April was 7.5%. Meanwhile, the average growth for the first four months was 8.8%, what makes Georgia one of the frontrunners in terms of economic growth, both regionally and Europe-wide. So, the goal is to maintain this pace of development.
The increase of the number of employed persons in Georgia between 2022 and 2024, over a span of three years, was 185,000, and the growth of the average salary was 917 GEL. Undoubtedly, a broad segment of the population feels the country’s economic growth, and it is necessary to keep moving forward at this pace. Economic growth is the key factor to eliminating poverty which is one of the primary national goals. To achieve that, it needs to ensure continued rapid economic development.
The targets of the government are very clear: the programmatic goal is to bring unemployment below 4% and to raise the average salary above 3,500 GEL by 2028. Fully accepting the responsibility, they expect to achieve them at the current pace.
Meanwhile, GeoStat published new data concerning poverty for 2024. They reported the poverty rate at 11.8% in 2023. In 2024, it decreased by 2.4 percentage points and achieved a single-digit figure of 9.4% for the first time since the 1990s. Kobakhidze reminded that in 2012, when Georgian Dream came into power, more than 1.1 million people in Georgia were living below the poverty line. Today that figure has decreased below 350,000.
Recognizing the evidence of the progress, the Prime Minister highlights that the government’s ultimate goal is to eliminate poverty entirely in Georgia. They are moving rapidly in that direction, having an absolutely realistic specific programmatic goal in this area — poverty reduction below 4% by 2028. Irakli Kobakhidze promised that at this pace, it is possible to eradicate poverty in Georgia in the medium term.
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Read moreVučić: Pension increase possibly before December, Kragujevac factory needs workers
“I will try to have pensions increased a month or two before December,” Vučić said. When asked by journalists how that would be possible since the current law does not allow for it, Vučić responded, “We will change the law.” He could not specify the percentage by which pensions would be raised, especially while a […]
Read moreBusiness sector turnover amounted to 56.0 billion GEL in Q1, gambling segment accounted for largest share
In the I quarter of 2025, compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the volume of business sector turnover increased by 14.5 percent and amounted to 56.0 billion GEL. The increase was observed in the production value of the business sector as well. In the I quarter of 2025, production value equaled 20.7 […]
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