Republic of Azerbaijan Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population Azerbaijan Employment Support Project (P171250) LABOR MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES Baku, 2019 1 Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 3 2. OVERVIEW OF LABOR USE IN THE PROJECT .......................................................... 4 2.1 Type of Workers .......................................................................................................... 4 2.2 Number of Project Workers ......................................................................................... 4 2.3 Characteristics of Project Workforce ............................................................................ 5 1.4 Timing of Labor Requirements..................................................................................... 5 3. ASSESSMENT OF KEY POTENTIAL LABOR RISKS ...................................................... 6 4. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION: TERMS AND CONDITIONS .................. 7 4.1 Wages and deductions ................................................................................................ 7 4.2 Working hours ............................................................................................................. 8 4.3 Rest breaks ................................................................................................................. 8 4.4 Leaves ......................................................................................................................... 9 4.5 Overtime work ............................................................................................................. 9 4.6 Labor disputes ............................................................................................................. 9 4.7 Grievances .................................................................................................................. 9 5. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (OHS) ................................................................................................................... 11 5.1 Azerbaijan legislation requirements on OHS .............................................................. 11 5.2 The World Bank Environmental and Social Standards: ESS 2 ................................... 12 5.3 Policy Gap ................................................................................................................. 13 6. RESPONSIBLE STAFF .................................................................................................. 15 7. POLICIES and PROCEDURES....................................................................................... 16 8. AGE OF EMPLOYMENT................................................................................................. 16 9. TERMS and CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT .............................................................. 17 10. GRIEVANCE MECHANISM (GM) ................................................................................. 17 10.1 Worker GM structure ............................................................................................... 17 10.2 World Bank Grievance Redress System .................................................................. 18 11. CONTRACT MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................ 18 2 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Project background The World Bank is providing support to the Government of Azerbaijan in preparing the Employment Support Project. The proposed operation is built around supporting the Government‟s Self-Employment Program (SEP). The objective of this program is to strengthen self-employment and entrepreneurship as a pathway out of poverty and into the labor market for vulnerable individuals. The improvement and scale-up of the self- employment program is consistent with the recently adopted “Employment Strategy of the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2019-2030” and its action plan in the draft. The third priority direction on “increasing the scope and efficiency of the active labor market programs and strengthening the integration of citizens who need social protection and who have difficulties in finding a job in the labor market” points to the need to enhance the effectiveness and scale of interventions supporting entrepreneurship and self- employment. 2. The Project is being prepared under the World Bank‟s new Environment and Social Framework (ESF), which came into effect on October 1, 2018, replacing the Bank‟s Environmental and Social Safeguard Policies. Under the ESF, all World Bank Borrowers have agreed to comply with ten Environmental and Social Standards (ESSs) applied to investment project lending financed by the Bank. The project recognizes the significance of, and adopts the ESSs, for identifying and assessing as well as managing the environmental and social risks and impacts associated with this investment project. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Population (MLSPP) as an implementing agency, has developed several key instruments to address such risks. One of the Standards – ESS2 relates to Labor and Working Conditions and expects the Borrowers to develop labor-management procedures (LMP). The LMP identifies the main labor requirements and risks associated with the project and helps the Borrower to determine the resources necessary to address labor issues. The LMP is a living document, which is initiated early in project preparation and is reviewed and updated throughout the development and implementation of the project. Accordingly, these document details are the type of workers likely to be deployed by the project and the management thereof. 1.2. About the project 1. The Project Development Objective is to improve the access of vulnerable people to sustainable self-employment and income generating opportunities in Azerbaijan. This will be achieved by (i) scaling up and improving the effectiveness of the Self-Employment Program (SEP); (ii) strengthening program implementation capacity in the State Employment Services (SES), along with the capacity to provide a broader menu of activation and employment support program; and (iii) improving monitoring and evaluation practices of the SES. The Project will be implemented country-wide and include the following component: Component 1: Enhancing the scope and effectiveness of the SEP; Sub-component 1.1: support program scale-up to 22 thousand new clients and the development of additional training modules in selected regions. 3 Sub-component 1.2: introduce complementary business support services for SEP clients. Sub-component 1.3: improve the coordination between the SEP and the Targeted State Social Assistance (TSSA) program. Component 2: Strengthening employment services and programs; Subcomponent 2.1: Outreach, profiling, skills assessment and case management for job-seekers. Subcomponent 2.2: Labor market assessment and development of VTC strategy. Component 3: Project Management, and Monitoring and Evaluation. 2. OVERVIEW OF LABOR USE IN THE PROJECT 2.1 Type of Workers 2. ESS 2 categorizes the workers into direct workers, contracted workers, community workers, and primary supply workers. Community workers will not be involved in the Project. The project will provide in-kind assets[1] to SEP beneficiaries which will entail the supply of pre-defined assets on an ongoing basis to the project. Such suppliers, providing goods on an ongoing basis core to the functioning of the Project, will be considered as primary suppliers for the purposes of this LMP. 3. Thus, only three categories of workers are expected: Direct workers. The project will be implemented by the Project Implementation Unit (PIU) under the MLSPP which will be established for the management of the project on a daily basis and play a linkage role between MLSPP and WB. Direct workers will comprise a mix of government civil servants (Labor Ministry) and those deployed as „technical consultants‟ – full and part-time by the PIU – under the project. The former will be governed by a set of civil services code, the latter by mutually agreed contracts. Ministry and PIU staff includes both workers based in Baku as well as in the regions to be covered by the Project. Contracted Workers. Contracted workers will be employed as deemed appropriate by contractors, sub-contractors, and other intermediaries, details of which will be known as and when activities' implementation begins. The project will support services, such as beneficiary assessment surveys, employer satisfaction survey, regular pieces of training to State Employment Service (SES) staff, the establishment of web-portal, among others, which shall be carried out by a team of professional companies. Thus, contracted workers are expected to be primarily employees of Consultant teams providing technical assistance services. No civil works are expected under the project. Primary Suppliers. The primary suppliers to SEP shall be companies that manufacture or import assets needed within the project to deliver to the project beneficiaries. The assets offered by the program will be considerably more diverse. An initial list of assets that the program can finance will be established on the basis of the set of assets within SEP (mainly focusing on small manufacturing, food processing, and services). 4 Previous experiences of SEP show that the majority of assets, required by the project, are produced or grown in developed countries, via local company intermediaries. European companies are not known to involve significant risks of child labor and forced labor. In instances where local suppliers would be engaged, PIU shall be required to carry out due diligence procedure to identify if there are significant risks that the suppliers are exploiting child or forced labor or exposing a worker to serious safety issues. If there are any risks related to child and forced labor, and safety identified, MSLPP will prepare the procedures to address these risks. These may include signed verification by the supplier on adherence to national law, good environmental (sanitary, health, etc.) practices, no involvement of child or forced labor as well as visits to the supplier premises. 2.2 Number of Project Workers 4. Direct Workers. Total number of PIU employees, dedicated to this project, is estimated to be 8 persons. In addition, implementation of the project will involve directly hired technical and business experts, as well as some government staff1. Number of experts and government staff (central or local) is not known yet. 5. Contracted Workers. The precise number of project contracted workers who will be employed are not known as of now. This will become known as and when implementation begins. 2.3 Characteristics of Project Workforce 6. To initiate project implementation, the PIU is expected to comprise at the minimum 5 specialists (a PIU coordinator, a labor specialist fully dedicated to the SEP program (Component 1), an FM specialist, an accountant, and a procurement specialist). Once the project is effective, an M&E specialist and two part-time environmental and social specialists will also join the PIU. Moreover, technical and business experts are planned to be hired to support strengthening the operational work on SEP within local SES Centers and to carry out pieces of training, as well as conduct regular mentoring visits to support beneficiaries. 7. Furthermore, professional business/capacity building companies might be contracted in order to carry out surveys, trainings and other assessments within the project. The nature of labor force will be skilled workers/experts. 1.4 Timing of Labor Requirements 8. The direct workers (PIU staff) will be required full time and around the year for the project duration (some staff will join PIU during implementation). Other experts/consultants will be hired on demand basis throughout the project period. Timing for involvement of contracted workers will be known at later stages, however it is clear that they will be engaged depending on implementation of various sub-components on specific time slots. 1 Including focal persons for SEP and case officers at each regional SES centers. The project will also employ a participatory approach involving central and local stakeholders through a Local Participatory Committee (LPC) that will be involved in planning and monitoring progress of the project at the local level. 5 3. ASSESSMENT OF KEY POTENTIAL LABOR RISKS 9. Given the small-scale of project interventions (in-kind transfers), and no construction2 activities to be supported by the project, no major risks are envisaged. 10. Labor risks associated with direct workers and contracted workers. In general, given that the project's Implementing Agency is the central executive body responsible for labor and employment policies and controls in the country, project implementing authorities are expected to have high awareness of national labor legislation and adhere to provisions of the national Labor Code. Moreover, the type of work to be carried out by direct and contracted workers does not entail high vulnerability to abuse of labor rights or OHS risks. 11. Labor risks including labor influx and associated gender based violence (GBV), and child labor are considered low given the small size of subproject investments, absence of civil works, and the MLSPP adherence to the national Labor Code which also prohibits child and forced labor. 12. Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) risks are low because the project will only include small scale support to households to improve their livelihood by means of self- employment activities. As all workers engaged within the project will be either MLSPP staff or hired for/by MLSPP PIU, by default it is expected that these labor management procedures, including procedures to establish and maintain a safe working environment as per requirements of ESS2, will be followed. 2 Although construction activities are not expected within the project, some small civil works (household level) may be implemented by beneficiaries of in-kind grants. These proposed activities should be screened and monitored. 6 4. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION: TERMS AND CONDITIONS 15. Labor related legislation in Azerbaijan consists of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Labor Code, and other legal and regulatory instruments and international treaties supported by the Republic of Azerbaijan. 16. The Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan stipulates basic principles of employment. Article 35 of the Constitution specifies that everyone have the right freely to choose his kind of activity, profession, occupation and place of work based on his or her ability to work. Also, nobody may be deprived of a right to work because of discrimination. Compulsory labor is forbidden. Labor contracts are freely signed. Everyone has the right to work in safe and healthy conditions and to receive salary not less than minimum wage defined by the state. Moreover, article 37 states that everybody who work with labor contract shall be granted paid leave not less than 21 calendar days in a year. 17. Labor Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan (dated February 1, 1999 № 618-IQ) is the fundamental legislative act aimed at governing relations between employees and employers, as well as other legal relations derived from such relations between them and relevant national authorities and entities. The Code also stipulates health and safety related requirements and principles. 4.1 Wages and deductions 18. The wages of employees are calculated based on the amount of work performed or the amount of time the employee has put in or on some other criteria. Wages paid shall be no less than the amount specified in employment contracts or standard salaries agreed upon in collective Labor contracts. (Artic 156, Labor Code). Wages may be based on either the individual or collective result of the work performed. Other terms for the payment of wages may also be stipulated in collective agreements and employment contracts. 19. The Labor Code stipulates right of employees to get wages, without discrimination, not less than the minimum salary determined by the State. Wages includes the standard monthly pay, supplements to it, and bonuses. The Code also defines the currency of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Manat, as payment currency. 20. By default, the legislation (Article 172, Labor Code) defines payment of wages in two parts within a month (advance and remaining pay) with an interval not exceeding sixteen days. However, it also empowers individual employment contracts to consider other type of agreements as well. 21. The total amount of a deduction from remuneration may not exceed 20% of the employee's wage. Nevertheless, in the case of legal actions defined by law, deductions may be up to maximum 50% (Article 176, Labor Code). Whereas, these restrictions are not used in cases of correctional work, alimony for minor children, and redress of wrong because of criminal activity or death of breadwinner, and restitution of injury caused to health of another person. 7 22. Deductions from an employee‟s wages can be made only for cases specified by legislation or with the written consent of the employee or by executive documents. By the order of the employer, only the following deduction are made from the salary of the employee:  taxes, payments for social insurance, other compulsory payments specified by law;  amounts by the executive documents;  compensation of the damage by the fault of the employee's (not exceed average monthly earnings);  vacation pay in cases of leave in advance and discharge before the end of the working year;  amount given to an employee for travel or other expenses which was not spent;  sums that were overpaid to the employee (due to an accounting error);  sums for purchase of goods for utility purposes, that were not used and not returned in time;  membership fees to the trade union; other cases specified by collective agreements. The Labor Code also provides for higher remuneration to the workers engaged in heavy work, work with harmful or hazardous working conditions or in unfavorable climate. 4.2 Working hours 23. The standard work week is 40 hours, with less allowed for the specific categories. The following reduced working hours must apply (Article 91, Labor Code):  employees up to the age of 16, 24 hours per week;  aged 16 to 18, category I and II disabled employees, and pregnant women and women with a child under the age of one-and-a-half, 36 hours per week. 24. Reduced working hours of no more than 36 hours per week shall be specified for certain places of work (e.g., doctors, teachers and individuals working with electronic devices and etc.) where working conditions (special in nature) are characterized by a high degree of sensitivity, excitement, mental, physical and nervous strain, or other factors negatively affecting human health. The list of such workplaces and positions, professions, and specialties are approved by the Cabinet of Ministers3. 4.3 Rest breaks 25. The employees must be granted a rest and meal break during the workday. Time and duration is regulated by internal work rules, shift schedules, or by an individual 3 List of these professions/specialties is approved by the Cabinet of Ministers‟ decree dated August 12, 2003, No: 106) 8 employment contract or a collective agreement between the employer and employee. The duration of rest between working days shall not be less than 12 hours. 4.4 Leaves 26. An employee will have the right to take a leave regardless of his/her position (profession), terms of employment or the effective period of their employment contract (article 110, Labor Code) with the duration of at least 21 days. Some categories of employees are eligible for 30 calendar days leave (agricultural workers; public officials, managers and experts holding responsible positions (responsibility for said positions shall be determined by the employer, taking into account the particulars of the work) at institutions, scientific personnel etc.). Depending on their seniority, employees shall be eligible for the following amounts of additional vacation time:  seniority of five to ten years - 2 additional calendar days;  seniority often to fifteen years - 4 additional calendar days;  seniority of over fifteen years - 6 additional calendar days. 4.5 Overtime work 27. Wages for every hour of overtime work shall be paid to employees as follows:  If wages are based on time worked, the amount paid per hour shall not be less than twice the standard hourly wage;  If wages are paid on the basis of piecework performed by the employee, extra wages must be paid in an amount not less than the hourly wages of employees with the same pay scale (Article 165, Labor Code) 4.6 Labor disputes 28. Collective and individual labor disputes are regulated in accordance with the Chapter XI of the Labor Code. All individual labor disputes shall be handled by the courts, if mutual agreement cannot be reached by parties of contract. 29. However, in case of collective agreements, a special body may be created within the framework of a trade union to look into individual disputes prior to going to court. The creation and functioning of this body may be defined by collective agreements. 4.7 Grievances 30. Law on Appeals of Citizens (September 30, 2015) contains legal provisions on established information channels for citizens to file their complaints, requests and grievances. Article 10 of the Law sets the timeframes for handling grievances, which is 15 working days from the date of receipt that do not require additional study and research, and maximum 30 working days for the appeals that need additional study. 31. For the purposes of this project all employers of direct and contracted workers, with the exception of civil servants, will establish an internal grievance redress mechanism prior to beginning of work and inform their employees of the existence of such measures. The 9 grievance mechanism for Project workers will be submitted to the World Bank for approval. 10 5. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF LABOR LEGISLATION: OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY (OHS) 5.1 Azerbaijan legislation requirements on OHS 33 According to the article 35.6 of the Constitution of the Republic of Azerbaijan “Everyone has the right to work in safe and healthy conditions” Labor protection norms and regulations are determined by the Labor Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan, as well as other legislative acts, normative legal acts adopted by the appropriate executive bodies within their jurisdiction. Recommendations for the organization of occupational safety services in enterprises, offices and organizations (dated July 14, 1999)” is a normative act regulates roles and responsibilities of occupational health and safety services, approved by the collegial council of MLSPP.. 34 State Labor Inspection Service (SLIS) under MLSPP enforces labor-related regulations following the requirements of the legislation. SLIS carries out state control for labor relations with employees, payment of labor, vacation and vacation rights, labor protection, technical safety, working conditions, compensation for work injuries, accidents at work and occupational accidents, compulsory occupational health insurance due to illnesses. 35 In addition to the labor inspection, the Ministry of Emergency Situation through State Agency for Safety Control carries out technical control in construction works. The Agency within its mandate participates in the development of safety policy at all stages of the construction sector ensures the implementation of this policy and exercises state control over in this direction. 36 The legislation[5] of Azerbaijan Republic requires all employers to provide insurance to all employees. This is defined as compulsory insurance against loss of professional ability as a result of industrial accidents and occupational diseases. The nature and scope of the insurance varies depending on the degree of occupational risk and the categories of insured. 37 The labor code requires occupational safety to be implemented on, but not limited to, the following principles:  Priority of employee life and health over results of production by enterprises;  Coordination of occupational safety with other economic and social policies, as well as with environmental protection;  Determination of unified occupational safety requirements for all enterprises, regardless of their ownership or legal form of organization;  Implementation of independent and efficient controls for compliance with occupational safety requirements by all enterprises;  Development and use of efficient occupational safety methods, techniques and technologies;  Providing employees with protective outer garments and boots, other individual protection devices, therapeutic food, etc., at no cost;  Training of experts at educational institutions on occupational safety; 11 38 The law also stipulates requirements for compulsory investigation, registration and analysis of any industrial accident or occupational illness and providing employees with accurate information on the situation related to occupational injuries, damages and occupational diseases; 39 The owner and employer of the organization shall be directly responsible for the occupational safety of employees in the workplace and for the application of regulations. They also shall be obliged to take the following measures in the workplace:  obey all occupational safety standards, norms and regulations;  protect the security of buildings, machinery, technological processes and equipment;  provide healthy conditions in the workplace and use current public health standards;  provide the necessary sanitary and cleanliness and provide treatment and prevention services;  provide employees who work in a harmful or adverse environment with free therapeutic food, milk or other foodstuff equivalents;  apply normal work and rest standards;  provide employees with free work clothes, shoes and other necessary protective gear in the required condition and with normal, regular frequency;  educate, instruct, and test the knowledge of employees on occupational safety standards and regulations and encourage them in occupational safety;  include necessary occupational safety regulations in the collective contract and assume responsibility as defined in these regulations;  provide a statistical report on the application of current occupational safety standards and working conditions; on measures taken to implement the standards and the results of activities to achieve these goals. The required information shall be provided at specific times and in specific forms determined by the relevant executive authorities. 5.2 The World Bank Environmental and Social Standards: ESS 2 40 The World Bank‟s stipulations related to labor are outlined in its Environmental and Social Standard 2 on Labor and Working Conditions (ESS2). This helps the Borrowers in promoting sound worker-management relationships and enhance the development benefits of a project by treating workers in the project fairly and providing safe and healthy working conditions. Key objectives of the ESS2 are to:  Promote safety and health at work;  Promote the fair treatment, nondiscrimination and equal opportunity of project workers;  Protect project workers, including vulnerable workers such as women, persons with disabilities, children (of working age, in accordance with this ESS) and 12 migrant workers, contracted workers, community workers and primary supply workers, as appropriate;  Prevent the use of all forms of forced labor and child labor;  Support the principles of freedom of association and collective bargaining of project workers; in a manner consistent with national law; and  Provide project workers with accessible means to raise workplace concerns. 41 ESS2 applies to project workers including fulltime, part-time, temporary, seasonal and migrant workers. Where government civil servants are working in connection with the project, whether full-time or part-time, they will remain subject to the terms and conditions of their existing public sector employment agreement or arrangement, unless there has been an effective legal transfer of their employment or engagement to the project. ESS2 will not apply to government civil servants. 42 The Borrower is responsible for developing and implementing written labor management procedures applicable to the project. These procedures set out the way in which project workers will be managed, in accordance with the requirements of national law and this ESS. The procedures will address the way in which this ESS will apply to different categories of project workers including direct workers, and the way in which the Borrower will require third parties to manage their workers. 43 Project workers will be provided with information and documentation that is clear and understandable regarding their terms and conditions of employment. The information and documentation will set out their rights under national labor and employment law (which will include any applicable collective agreements), including their rights related to hours of work, wages, overtime, compensation and benefits, as well as those arising from the requirements of this ESS. This information and documentation will be provided at the beginning of the working relationship and when any material changes to the terms or conditions of employment occur. 44 The employment of project workers will be based on the principle of equal opportunity and fair treatment, and there will be no discrimination with respect to any aspects of the employment relationship, such as recruitment and hiring, compensation (including wages and benefits), working conditions and terms of employment, access to training, job assignment, promotion, termination of employment or retirement, or disciplinary practices. 5.3 Policy Gap 45 Comparison of key OHS related World Bank Requirements with Azerbaijan Legal Requirements ESS & Topic Major WB requirements Gaps with Azerbaijan legal framework A. Working conditions and  Written labor All requirements exist in management of management Azerbaijan legislation, labor relations procedures except  Terms and conditions of  No provision for Labor employment Management Plans for  Nondiscrimination and 13 equal opportunity specific projects.  Worker‟s organizations  Elaborate Labor Management Plans including Contractor‟s ESMP B. Protecting the work force  Child labor prohibition  No gaps (Child labor  Forced labor prohibition prohibited (under 15) and 15-18 with permission of parents).  C. Grievance mechanism GRM should be in place for  No specific GRM process direct and contracted for employees working with workers individual employment contracts  Grievance registration and follow-up procedures are available through the Law on Appeals of Citizens. D. Occupational Health and  Detailed Procedure  No detailed procedure Safety required for every project. specific to every project.  Requirements to protect  Consistent on requirements workers, train workers, to protect workers, train document incidents, workers, document emergency preparation, incidents, have emergency addressing issues; and preparedness plan.  Monitor OSH performance E. Category of workers Specifies categories of No such classification (direct, contracted, supplier, workers community) F. Minimum age of workers  Minimum age for  Employment permissible employment is 14; for  A child between 14-18 15 plus age, but with may be employed or guardian permission. engaged only in certain  15-18 years are not conditions permitted to work under difficult and unsafe working conditions The Azerbaijan labor legislation is consistent with the World bank ESS2 in most key aspects with the exception of few points, namely, requirements for employers to develop internal grievance redress mechanism for workers. For the purposes of this Project the provisions of the World Bank ESS2, stipulated in this Labor Management Procedures document will be followed, with the exception of civil servants, whose terms of employment will follow national legislation only. 14 6. RESPONSIBLE STAFF 43 The PIU will be directly supervised by the MLSPP and/or will report to responsible staff within MLSPP appointed by the minister. The assigned person will oversee and guide all the workers associated with the project. The PIU coordinator, on a daily basis, will coordinate the project activities including relations with direct employees, contractors and suppliers. 44 The human resources person assigned by MLSPP and PIU‟s Social and Environmental specialists will be responsible for the following within their responsibility area:  Implementing these labor management procedures;  Ensuring that contractors comply with this labor management procedure;  Monitoring to verify that contractors are meeting labor and OHS obligations toward contracted and subcontracted workers as required by Azerbaijan legislation and ESS2;  Monitoring contractors and subcontractors‟ implementation of labor management procedures;  Monitoring compliance with occupational health and safety standards at all workplaces in line with the national occupational health and safety legislation;  Monitoring and implement training on LMP and OHS for project workers;  Ensuring that the grievance redress mechanism for project workers is established and implemented and that workers are informed of its purpose and how to use it;  Have a system for regular monitoring and reporting on labor and occupational safety and health performance; and  Monitoring implementation of the Worker Code of Conduct. 45 The Contractors (Consultants) will be responsible for the following:  To obey requirements of the national legislation and this labor management procedure;  Maintain records of recruitment and employment process of contracted workers;  Communicate clearly job description and employment conditions to contracted workers;  Have a system for regular review and reporting on labor, and occupational safety and health performance. 46 When contractor(s) are known, this labor management procedure can be updated to include additional details about companies, hired workforce and etc., as necessary. 15 7. POLICIES and PROCEDURES 47 As specified in the Labor Code, employment of project workers will be based on the principles of non-discrimination and equal opportunity. There will be no discrimination with respect to any aspects of the employment relationship, including recruitment, compensation, working conditions and terms of employment, access to training, promotion or termination of employment. The following measures will be monitored by the Human Resources department of MLSPP and PIU Social specialist, to ensure fair treatment of all employees:  Recruitment procedures will be transparent, public and non-discriminatory, and open with respect to ethnicity, religion, sexuality, disability or gender;  Clear job descriptions will be provided in advance of recruitment and will explain the skills required for each post;  All workers will have written contracts describing terms and conditions of work and will have the contents explained to them. Workers will sign the employment contract;  Employees will be informed at least two months before their expected release date of the coming termination;  Depending on the origin of the employer and employee, employment terms and conditions will be communicated in a language that is understandable to both parties;  In addition to written documentation, an oral explanation of conditions and terms of employment will be provided to workers who may have difficulty understanding the documentation. 8. AGE OF EMPLOYMENT 48 Azerbaijan legislation prohibits anyone under 18 from performing “unhealthy or heavy” labor and there are special requirements for leave, work hours, and other conditions of employment. It is expected that people to be hired within the project will be over 18. However, in case of a particular need, 15-18 years could be hired within the project with shortened working hours and with guardian permission. Given the nature of work, mostly skilled labor requiring secondary of higher education, it is not expected that employees between 15-18 will be employed by the project. 49 Contractors (consultants) will be required to verify the identify and age of all workers. This will require workers to provide official documentation, which could include a birth certificate, national identification card, passport, or medical or school record. If a child under the minimum age is discovered working on the project, measures will be taken to immediately terminate the employment or engagement of the child in a responsible manner, taking into account the best interest of the child. 16 9. TERMS and CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT 50 Terms and conditions of direct workers are determined by their individual contracts. 51 Permanent project staff will have individual agreements (labor contract or service contract) with fixed monthly wage rates. All the recruiting procedures should be documented and filed in the folders in accordance to the requirements of labor legislation of the Republic of Azerbaijan. 52 Forty hour per week employment should be practiced. Requirements and conditions of overtimes and leave durations are agreed as part of individual contracts. 10. GRIEVANCE MECHANISM (GM) 53 A grievance mechanism (GM) will be provided for all direct workers and contracted workers to raise workplace concerns. Such workers will be informed of the grievance mechanism at the time of recruitment and the measures put in place to protect them against any reprisal for its use. Measures will be put in place to make the grievance mechanism easily accessible to all such project workers. 54 Considering the fact that very limited number of people will be employed within the Project, a simple project specific GM will be established for workers. This GM is not same as the grievance mechanism to be established for project affected stakeholders. 55 The project specific GM for the workers will\ be at two levels- one at the PIU level and the other in the Ministry level (MLSPP). It should be emphasized that this GM is not an alternative/substitution to legal/juridical system for receiving and handling grievances. However, this is formed to mediate and seek appropriate solutions to labor related grievances, without escalating to higher stages. Having said that, all employees always have rights, according to Azerbaijan legislation, to access judicial/legal grievance management system. 10.1 Worker GM structure 56 PIU level: Social specialist will serve as Grievance Focal Point (GFP) to file the grievances and appeals. He/She will be responsible to coordinate with relevant departments/organization and persons to facilitate addressing these grievances. If the issue cannot be resolved at the PIU level within 7 working days, then it will be escalated to the Ministry level. 57 Ministry level: If there is a situation in which there is no response from the PIU level, or if the response is not satisfactory then complainants and feedback providers have the option to contact the Focal Person in Employment Policy Department of the MLSPP () directly to follow up on the issue. 58 GM will be accessible to all employees through various means (written, telephone, fax, social media etc). Grievance logbook will be maintained in the PIU‟s office. 59 The Project workers‟ grievance mechanism will not prevent workers to use judicial procedure. 17 60 Moreover, monitoring of work related grievances will be carried out by the Human Resources Department of MLSPP on quarterly basis. Assigned person from HR department will review received grievances and their resolution, and prepare a short summary to be included in the quarterly progress report to WB. 10.2 World Bank Grievance Redress System 61 Communities and individuals who believe that they are adversely affected by a World Bank (WB) supported project may submit complaints to existing project-level grievance redress mechanisms or the WB‟s Grievance Redress Service (GRS). The GRS ensures that complaints received are promptly reviewed in order to address project-related concerns. Project affected communities and individuals may submit their complaint to the WB‟s independent Inspection Panel which determines whether harm occurred, or could occur, as a result of WB non-compliance with its policies and procedures. Complaints may be submitted at any time after concerns have been brought directly to the World Bank‟s attention, and Bank Management has been given an opportunity to respond. For information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank‟s corporate Grievance Redress Service (GRS), please visit http://www.worldbank.org/en/projectsoperations/products-and-services/grievance- redress-service. For information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank Inspection Panel, please visit www.inspectionpanel.org. 11. CONTRACT MANAGEMENT 62 Contractors will be national business/technical consultancy companies. They should follow the requirements of the national legislation and measures described in this document in relation to labor management.. 63 The primary suppliers to the project will be companies that manufacture or import/export assets required to deliver the project beneficiaries. In instances where local suppliers would be engaged, PIU will be required to carry out due diligence procedures to identify if there are significant risks that the suppliers are exploiting child or forced labor or exposing workers to serious safety issues. In instances where foreign suppliers would be selected, PIU will be required to inquire during their procurement process whether the supplier has been accused or sanctioned for any of these issues and also their corporate requirements related to child labor, forced labor, and safety. If there are any risks related to child and forced labor, and safety identified, MLSPP will prepare the procedures to address these risks. 18