Enabling environment for sustainable and resilient enterprises generating employment and decent work in the COVID-19 post-crisis recovery

The lack of decent job opportunities and a large informal sector, which accounts for about two-thirds of total employment in the Kyrgyz Republic, are chronic problems.

The impact of the COVID crisis on informal workers is even stronger. Another challenge is the huge share of SMEs that have no plans on how to arrange the work in a COVID context and no internal practices nor guiding principles on how to enable at least a partial return to work.

The project supports enterprises to press for new measures that are best suited to increase their ability to survive during the current crisis and ensure a faster and stronger recovery thereafter.

Implementing partners and beneficiaries include the Business Association (JIA) and the Federation of Trade Unions. Other important stakeholders are local experts, women entrepreneurs’ organizations, business service providers and investment promotion agencies.

The expected results are firstly that ILO constituents in Kyrgyzstan have a set of tools to design and implement policies that facilitate the transition of informal enterprises to formality and make them more sustainable and productive. The capacities of employers will be increased to offer new services to informal enterprises and identify COVID-19 post-crisis recovery measures aimed at supporting business continuity. The capacities of workers’ organisations will be increased to preserve adequate labour protection and workers’ rights in informal enterprises. Finally, social dialogue will be strengthened so as to define proposals for change in the policy framework, including joint efforts aimed at resolving issues in the labour inspection system.