Since March 12, the National Chamber has been actively studying the situation with business in connection with quarantine measures and the introduction of the emergency regime. During this time, more than 7,000 entrepreneurs have applied to Atameken, they told about the damage and problems which need to be solved.

Based on the analysis of the data collected, Atameken experts developed a package of measures to preserve jobs and the price level of basic commodities.

 There are eight measures to preserve jobs:

 First Measure

It is necessary to conduct a mass survey of entrepreneurs in the most vulnerable areas (leisure, tourism, trade, and catering) to determine the number of potentially released workers.

For this purpose, we suggest:

Approve a single survey, on the basis developed by Atameken NCE RK;

launch the questionnaire through state IT platforms (eGov, Enbek.kz and other methods) and make it an official feedback channel;

launch a State Call Centre on the basis of Kazakhtelecom JSC. The State Call Centre’s data and data of the Atameken’s online questionnaire will be sent to the Government for prompt action.

Second Measure

As a compensation tool, we offer to reimburse the cost of maintaining jobs for a period of up to 3 months. For these purposes, we propose to redistribute the funds of the Enbek State Program (KZT 100 billion, taking into account the increase of released employees).

Business contacts with the Atameken NCE RK show that about 60% of employers in the service sector plan to release employees. This number may increase in the future. According to preliminary estimates, even 30% of the minimum wage released in the main service sectors (1.6 million employees) for 3 months will require about KZT 65 billion. Moreover, the calculation takes into account that some companies will be able to pay the minimum wage to their employees within a few months.

For reception of applications for compensation from employers/employees it is necessary to create working groups on the basis of regional headquarters at akimats from representatives of local authorities, employment department, regional chambers of businessmen, trade unions, Nur Otan party (as agreed). 

It is assumed that the working groups will consider the validity of the staff reduction due to the emergency, as well as the availability of the documents provided for by the legislation (order, employment contract, the fact of payment of compulsory pension contributions, Mandatory social health insurance, etc.).

Third Measure

We consider it necessary to train, retrain and improve the skills of released workers online.

For employees who are forced to be on a 3-month leave, we offer to take courses to improve their skills online. A scholarship of KZT 16,700  should be provided for the duration of training while maintaining the minimum wage (KZT 42,500). Also, managers of idle enterprises are offered to use the crisis to improve the quality of their staff.

However, we propose not to limit ourselves to training only those who are on a forced vacation. It is important to train the unemployed through the Job Centre in skills and professions that have been in demand in the post-pandemic economic environment.

Online training will be a new tool for the development of training centers in enterprises, as they will form the content of online training and provide a place for internships. Funding for the training process is provided by the Enbek State Programme, and a scholarship of KZT 16,700 is being paid to participants.

We offer to organize the online stage on the platform of Atameken Academy, the platform is provided free of charge.

We offer the following algorithm:

1. The training center, admitted to training, is registered on the Portal.

2. Employees of the Training Center will develop and post-training videos on the Platform, Atameken’s employees will provide advice and support during the creation of the training course.

3. The training course is chosen by the training participant or the employer. 

4. After the online training, online testing for theory knowledge is conducted.

5. We will give a training participant from among the unemployed a job referral to an enterprise that has developed a training course to consolidate theoretical knowledge and pass the internship there.

6. After passing the internship, the participant will be given a certificate.

Positive results of the proposed measures:

Provision of the basic needs of the population left without income as a result of the introduction of the emergency regime;

training of the population the required skills;

improving the quality of enterprise personnel (improving existing competencies);

Ensuring the operation of training/educational centers during the State of Emergency.

Fourth Measure

We propose to compensate employers for losses on staff maintenance in conditions of State of Emergency from the State Social Insurance Fund (SSIF).

Enterprises are forced to stand idle due to force majeure. Employers are required to pay a minimum wage to employees during downtime.

We believe that it is necessary to supplement the norms of Article 3 of the Law "On Compulsory Social Insurance" with a new insurance case: loss of income due to the introduction of the emergency regime. This will make it possible to direct part of the funds accumulated in SSIF (more than KZT 1.4 trillion) to compensate for business expenses.

To date, the Law provides for payments on six types of insurance cases:

1) in case of loss of ability to work;

2) in case of loss of the breadwinner;

3) in the event of loss of employment;

4) in case of loss of income due to pregnancy and childbirth;

(5) In case of loss of income in connection with the adoption of a newborn child(s);

6) In the event of loss of income in connection with caring for a child upon reaching the age of one year.

It is proposed to supplement the Act with a new seventh insurance event - loss of income in connection with the introduction of the State of Emergency regime.

Fifth Measure

We propose to allow employers to legalize grey/unofficial labor relations without the application of penalties provided for by law.

It requires:

to apply an amnesty on pension and social contributions debts;

to exempt companies from paying administrative fines and from criminal and administrative liability according to the legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, if they officially confirm/declare their employees with whom there was no official employment relationship.

to prevent corruption and inefficient spending of the budget, the following mechanism should be used:

the employer enters into an employment contract with unregistered employees from the current date (by law, the contract is for 12 months);

officially registered employees have the opportunity to receive payments from the State Social Insurance Fund for 3 months;

the employer assumes a counter obligation – do not fire employees within 6 months from the date of the contract, and if the employer violates the conditions, it is obliged to return the money spent by the state on its employees.

Sixth Measure

We propose to scale up the proactive format of interaction with the population - Mobile Employment Centres and calls to the unemployed.

The project was launched in 2019 and covered 137.3 thousand people. They were explained the opportunities and measures for employment, entrepreneurship education and retraining.

As a result:

- more than 25,000 people were directed to short-term training;

- more than 8,000 people were provided with entrepreneurship education;

- 19,000 people received psychological counseling.

The Atameken experts gathered a database of unemployed and self-employed people, and together with partners developed a database of vacancies in three cities. In a crisis, it is possible to use this experience on a national scale and employ the released personnel where there are vacancies.

It is also possible to launch calls to citizens without pension contributions (the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Kazakhstan has contact details), explaining support measures through the above-mentioned State Call Centre on the basis of Kazakhtelecom JSC.

Seventh Measure

Please support the development of the "Roadmap for income growth of vulnerable category of the population" (Targeted Social Assistance (TSA) receivers) to ensure stable income (Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Ministry of National Economy, Agricultural Ministry, Atameken NCE, local authorities).

To develop the Roadmap, it is necessary:

(a) Introduce and maintain a map for each Targeted Social Assistance recipient, identifying an active family member with a potential entrepreneurial potential for further sustainable income - economic anchor or driver;

b) in the Q2 of this year, Atameken plans to organize online training for vulnerable categories of population (TSA recipients).

A potential participant in the training applies to the Employment Centre at his/her place of residence for a training referral and submits an online application on the Portal. The participant undergoes online scoring for solvency and trustworthiness. The training course consists of twelve basic modules. After studying each module, the participant is tested. At the end of each module, you need to gain 60% or more in order to access the next module. Also during the training, the participant makes a business plan for his project on the Portal.

During the training, the participants will be offered projects focused on the production and supply of products for anchoring companies;

c) Involve existing 127 business trainers (more than 300 in 3 years in the Atameken pool) and training centres on a competitive basis to provide online advice, assist in business plan development and conduct anchorage and distribution training in districts (settlements) (local authorities, Atameken NCE RK);

d) redistribute the funds provided for grants to the guarantee tool, taking into account the lack of collateral for this category of population or their illiquidity to increase the average amount of the project (Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Ministry of National Economy, Agricultural Ministry);

e) to provide for the leasing financing of students for the purchase of equipment, livestock and poultry through social business corporations (Ministry of National Economy, Agricultural Ministry, local authorities);

(f) Provide for preferential allocation of land plots, production areas (local authorities);

(g) To facilitate integration into the marketing chain, taking into account the anchor enterprises of the region (Atameken NCE, local authorities).

We propose to involve the Call-Center on the basis of Kazakhtelecom JSC to call 97,000 large and low-income families - recipients of TSA to identify economic anchors, as well as to attract to participation in state support measures: training, grant financing, and microlending.

Eighth Measure

It is necessary to create new jobs by developing production capacities for basic necessities using the following mechanism:

1) To propose for approval by a decision of the State Commission a list of basic necessities (hereinafter - BN), consisting of a list of socially important food products (19 items), non-food products (hygiene products, household chemicals, disinfectants) and medicines (vitamins and immunomodulatory drugs, antipyretic and antiviral drugs, masks, antiseptics, etc.).

2) Using the results of the country screening and the possibilities of a large number of enterprises to combine them into cluster cooperatives.

As a locomotive of a cluster cooperative to identify an economic integrator for each type of goods of the first necessity (for example, Zhanarys LLP of Darmenov Z., Dala Fruit LLP of Aliyev B., Agrofirma Rodina LLP of Ivan Sauer, Caspiy Plus LLP of J. Pangereev, Dinara ranch LLP of B. Ataibekov, Agrofirma TNK LLP of B. Ualiev, etc.).

At the level of villages and auls, identify small economic integrators for reloading and involvement of wood processing plants in sales chains.

For this purpose, introduce concepts in the Law "On Agricultural Cooperation" with the definition of criteria for its members, which may be raw material producers, procurement organizations, transport and logistics companies, processors, suppliers, producers of fertilizers and consumables, trade facilities, etc.).

3) Introduce counter commitments to cooperation participants to increase production, create new jobs, comply with technological requirements, introduce agricultural competence, sell at least 70% of the domestic market, build hostels, canteens, gyms, preschools, etc.

4) Based on the results of the screening of the Atameken NCE RK, a pool of 60,000 entrepreneurs was identified who have problems with reloading and expressed a desire to expand. It is necessary to work individually with each of these enterprises on issues of necessary state support for further development, taking into account counter commitments on job creation. At the same time, it is necessary to promote and support these enterprises in terms of sales and reduction of administrative barriers.

5) Retraining of specialists who graduated from higher educational institutions in another specialty with further employment at enterprises to reduce unemployment among graduates.

6) To stimulate business integration, provide additional stimulating measures of state support (similar to Special economic zones) to participants (members) of cluster cooperation and their integrators.

At the same time, support measures are divided into national and regional support measures, taking into account the territorial specifics of the regions for cluster cooperation participants.

Regional support measures are aimed at the development of production in the context of territories (land allocation, construction of infrastructure, local subsidies, and loans, sales assistance, etc.). The main operator to provide regional support measures in the form of loans and subsidies should be social entrepreneurship corporations.

The Cluster Cooperatives project should become the third, upper tier of the three-tier economic ecosystem, which also includes two primary levels:

The first level – from the level of family farms to the level of micro-, small enterprises;

the second level – from micro-, small enterprises to medium sustainable companies;

third level - sustainable enterprises of the level of the Economy of simple things project (output of finished products).

To implement the project and involve family farms and entrepreneurs into the three-level system as much as possible, we propose to create a project suboffice with regional suboffices within the Project Office headed by Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar.

Measures on control the price level of basic necessities

 To contain prices, it is necessary to create a working group at the level of each regional headquarters consisting of representatives of the local authorities, regional chambers of entrepreneurs, and Nur Otan party (as agreed).

  The working group should:

- identify and determine the current stock of necessary products and essential goods. This list consists of 19 types of socially important products and is determined by the Government Decision (No. 145).

- to constantly monitor the stock level of these items;

- keep a Register of all major suppliers and manufacturers in the region.

If the stocks are below the required level (mainly imported goods), the working group shall define support measures for such suppliers, e.g. in the form of exchange rate subsidies to maintain pre-crisis prices.

For trade representatives and distributors, as well as manufacturers who produce or supply these commodity items, we propose to allocate working capital through second-tier banks at 6 percent per annum (under the Economy of simple things programme), or through the Social Enterprise Corporations with the allocation of funds from the local budget to them to smoothly supply food and medicine.

It is also necessary to support the online delivery of food and everyday goods (such as Arbuz.kz) with access to warehousing vehicles and working capital.