OMM Newsroom
Azerbaijan has taken over from Uzbekistan the chairmanship of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Advisory Council on Labour, Employment and Social Protection. The decision was formalized at the council’s 39th meeting in Baku on October 15.
Senior officials from CIS countries discussed employment policy, social protection, digital public services and ways to expand regional cooperation.
Labor and Social Protection Minister Anar Aliyev outlined the results of social reforms Azerbaijan has carried out since 2018 and announced plans to implement a sixth package of reforms in 2027.
According to figures Aliyev presented, five social reform packages were implemented between 2018 and 2026, benefiting 4 million people. The measures increased annual funding by an additional 8 billion manats, or $4.7 billion.
The number of people employed rose 3.6 times, while participation in self-employment programs increased 2.7 times. The number of people receiving vocational training grew 7.1 times, and the number using career counseling services tripled.
Over the same period, the number of employment contracts increased by 44%, the minimum wage more than tripled, and the average monthly wage more than doubled. Information presented at the meeting showed that minimum and average monthly pensions also rose by about three times.
More than 90% of services provided by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection are delivered digitally. DOST centers bring social services together under one roof.
Participants also discussed delivering employment services through digital platforms, improving labor standards and strengthening cooperation among governments, employers and workers. Officials reviewed preparations to designate 2028 as the Year of Social Development and Quality of Life in the CIS.
Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan presented information on digital employment and social protection services. Representatives of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan outlined recent developments in their countries’ labor and social policies.
Marat Jurayev, Uzbekistan’s first deputy minister of employment and poverty reduction, summed up his country’s work during its council chairmanship and reviewed implementation of decisions made at the previous meeting. CIS Secretary-General Sergey Lebedev presented awards to representatives of Uzbekistan’s labor agencies in recognition of their contribution to regional cooperation.
The CIS Advisory Council on Labour, Employment and Social Protection provides a forum for member countries to exchange experience, coordinate policies and discuss shared issues in labor, employment and social protection.
