1. Increase of social benefits from the State Pension Fund
Against the background of the rapid development of technology, new flexible forms of employment have appeared on the labor market, which have become especially relevant during the pandemic and have changed the work activities of many citizens.
At the same time, this category of so-called "independent workers" remains socially unprotected, neither in case of loss of work or income due to the loss of their ability to work, it is not covered by any social guarantees, including the health insurance system.
In this regard, it became necessary to introduce new mechanisms for protecting the labor rights of such workers, regardless of the form and nature of their employment, whether it is joint work (two employees at one workplace), parallel employment (one employee at two workplaces), a rolling schedule, etc.
This will ensure the right of "independent workers" to receive pension payments from the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund, social payments from the State Social Insurance Fund and medical care in the system of compulsory social health insurance.
At the same time, as the Head of State said in his Address, the amount of social benefits in case of job loss for social insurance participants from the State Social Insurance Fund will be increased to 45% of the average monthly income and the terms of payment for child care from 1 to 1.5 years.
Raising the minimum wage
It should be noted that in the Republic of Kazakhstan, the minimum wage (hereinafter referred to as the minimum wage) is the minimum social standard.
At the same time, the size of the minimum wage, as the lowest salary limit for employees, is mandatory for all employers. The minimum wage is set annually for the corresponding financial year by the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan on the republican budget and should not be lower than the subsistence minimum.
In his Message to the people of Kazakhstan, the Head of State announced that the minimum wage will be increased to 70 thousand tenge.
This will directly cover 1.8 million people receiving wages at the level of the minimum wage.
It will also increase the incomes of citizens who receive wages at a level above the minimum wage, taking into account the impact of categories and qualifications of employees on wage growth.
The Head of State also instructed the Government to introduce a methodology for determining the minimum wage based on a dynamic approach and taking into account the main economic indicators.
This instruction is timely and relevant, as inflation does not stand still, food prices and goods are becoming more expensive.
In this regard, it is necessary to ensure a proportionate increase in the size of the minimum wage based on a methodology that takes into account socio-economic indicators.