Read the Final Statement published 15 December 2023: English
On 5 December 2022, Branch Professional Union of Machine Builders, a trade union, submitted a specific instance to the NCP of Kazakhstan alleging that ТОО «KAZAKHSTAN PARAMOUNT ENGINEERING», a manufacturing company in Kazakhstan that specialises in the production of armoured vehicles had not observed the Concepts and Principles (Chapter I), General Policies (Chapter II), Human Rights (Chapter IV), and Employment and Industrial Relations (Chapter V) provisions of the Guidelines. Specifically, the submitters alleged that the company had violated the terms of an Industry Agreement regarding the obligations to transfer social contributions in accordance with national legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the rights of trade unions. Parallel proceedings are ongoing with the company and submitter in accordance with national law.
On 15 December 2023, the NCP published a final statement deciding not to accept the specific instance for further examination, noting the difficulties posed by the ongoing parallel proceedings to examine the issues and the consequent refusal on the part of the company to participate in the NCP process. The NCP therefore considered that examination of the specific instance would be unlikely to contribute to the purposes and effectiveness of the Guidelines.
The NCP recommended that the company consider the recommendations from the Guidelines, in particular:
- Respect internationally recognised human rights in its activities, as well as prevent human rights violations and remedy negative impacts with regard to respect for human rights.
- Respect the right of employees working in a multinational enterprise to form or join trade unions or representative offices of employees for the purpose of negotiating collective agreements.
- Allow authorised representatives of the employees of the enterprise to negotiate the collective agreement, or industrial and labour relations, and allow the parties to consult on matters of mutual interest with representatives of the management of the enterprise authorised to make decisions on these matters.
- Conduct due diligence on risks in order to identify, prevent and mitigate actual and potential adverse human rights impacts.
The NCP further noted the need to comply with the approved NCP procedures for handling specific instances to the Parties, notably participation in the NCP process.