Работа и карьера

ОПИСАНИЕ ДОЛЖНОСТИ : 

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Background and rationale
Armenia is a landlocked nation situated amidst Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. Despite its small size, Armenia faces significant economic challenges, boasting a GDP of 12.4 billion USD and a labour force of 1.3 million individuals. Armenia's economic vulnerabilities are compounded by its limited export base and reliance on remittances from the diaspora, making it susceptible to fluctuations in the global economy, particularly in commodity markets.
There are no systematic and regular statistics on occupational accidents in Armenia, and thus, the real numbers are not known officially. This reflects the challenges Armenia faces in consistently collecting and reporting comprehensive data on occupational accidents and related incidents. However, recently in the light of inflow of migrant workers the number of occupational accidents has been increased according to media monitoring and reports. Thus, the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MLSA) and Social Partners during numerous meetings and official statements reaffirmed their commitments to fostering a safe and healthy work environment nationwide, including through the reform of national legislation on occupational safety and health (OSH).
Despite the commitments, several factors currently impede the realization of the fundamental right to a safe and healthy working environment in Armenia. Foremost among these is the absence of a comprehensive legal framework on OSH that would uniformly cover all workers and sectors, delineate general OSH principles, specify the roles and functions of governmental and public authorities, outline employers' basic duties, and establish the rights and responsibilities of workers and their representatives. This regulatory gap hinders the establishment of an adequate OSH system and the cultivation of a national culture focused on preventive safety and health practices. These obstacles reflect on the lack of gender specific dimensions considering different needs of women and men workers in terms of OSH risks and solutions including pregnant and breastfeeding women.
Furthermore, Armenia lacks a formal OSH policy, a detailed national OSH program, or a tripartite national body or working group involving the Ministry of Labour and social partners exclusively dedicated to OSH issues.
At the 110th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC) in June 2022, a resolution was adopted urging the inclusion of a safe and healthy working environment within the framework of fundamental principles and rights at work (FPRW) of the International Labour Organization (ILO). The resolution highlights the significance of the Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155), and the Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187), as fundamental Conventions, imposing obligations on all Member States, regardless of ratification status.
Armenia has yet to ratify these two OSH Fundamental Conventions (C155 and C187), along with most other ILO standards related to OSH. However, under Article 90 and Annex VII to Chapter 15 of the EU-Armenia Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA), Armenia has committed to harmonizing its legislation with EU directives, including twenty-seven directives on OSH.
Further, violence and harassment pose a significant and ongoing threat to health and safety at the workplace as envisaged by the ILO Convention on Violence and Harassment (C190). A comprehensive OSH framework at both national and workplace level is key to building an inclusive and gender-responsive approach to prevent and eliminate violence and harassment in the world of work.
Compromising effective compliance, limitations on the authority and operations of labour inspections in Armenia hinder the enforcement of labour and human rights defined in national law and the improvement of working conditions. Such constraints include restrictions on the initiative of labour inspectors to conduct inspection visits, requirements for advance notification to employers, and limitations on visit duration and scope.
Moreover, Armenia's labour inspectorate does not investigate occupational accidents and diseases; instead, these responsibilities fall to the police, public prosecutor's office, employers, and workers' representatives. Additionally, there is a notable absence of a dedicated public institution for the collection and analysis of OSH data to inform evidence-based policy-making.
Regarding the capacity of social partners to promote a safe and healthy working environment, employers' organizations demonstrate awareness of their responsibilities in safeguarding workers' safety and health, while workers' organizations offer advisory services on OSH matters without specific workplace-focused programs.
Although universities in Armenia integrate OSH modules into technical and vocational education and training (TVET), these modules remain broad, underscoring the need for enhanced specialized training for future OSH professionals.
Thus, there is a pressing need in Armenia to review Country OSH Profile Armenia (2013) and update it. The profile is available at: Country (ilo.org).
This effort will help to map all the gaps and promote transition from a reactive approach to OSH, which focuses predominantly on addressing occupational risks post-incident, towards a proactive and preventive strategy rooted in rigorous risk management practices. This transformation should be coupled with improvements in recording, reporting, and investigating occupational accidents and diseases, and the fostering of a national culture that prioritizes preventive safety and health measures.
The purpose of developing National OSH Profile is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a country's OSH system, identify priority areas for improvement, and guide the development of strategies and interventions to enhance occupational safety and health outcomes. It should serve as a valuable tool for policymakers, employers, workers, and other stakeholders involved in promoting safe and healthy workplaces. The main goal of the activity is to assess the current status, policies, regulations, and practices related to occupational safety and health in Armenia and the extent of possibility of compliance to ILS.
The Consultant will identify the gaps and best practices and prioritize common areas for time-bound action in the country through the institutions that promote and provide OSH services. The National OSH Profile will be an inventory of all the tools and resources available in a country to implement and manage OSH designed to provide the data necessary for setting national priorities for action aimed at progressive and continual improvement of National OSH System.

Specifically, the Guiding principles for the preparation of a national profile on OSH include that they:
- Include all aspects listed under numbers 1 and 2 of paragraph 14 of the ILO Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation, 2006 (No. 197);
- Be prepared at the country level through a process which involves all the national competent and other designated authorities concerned with the different aspects of occupational safety and health, and more importantly the most representative organizations of Employers and Workers;
- Provide basic data on all the parameters that may affect the sound management of occupational safety and health both at the national and enterprise levels, including available legislative framework, enforcement and implementation mechanisms and infrastructures, workforce distribution, human and financial resources devoted to OSH, OSH initiatives at the enterprise level, level of protection, etc.
- Provide practical information on on-going activities at the country level (e.g., activities related to the implementation of international agreements, ongoing and planned technical assistance projects, etc.);
- Serve as a basis for initiating a process by which a country will be able to identify gaps in the existing legal, institutional, administrative, and technical infrastructure related to the sound management of OSH;
- Provide a means for improved co-ordination among all parties interested in OSH. The process of preparing the Profile itself may serve as a starting point for improved co-ordination and should facilitate communications and an improved understanding of the potential problems and activities being undertaken within the country.
- Ensuring mainstreaming of gender and other equity considerations to make the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) national profile inclusive and responsive to the diverse needs of all workers. By integrating gender and other equity considerations into OSH policies, practices, and frameworks, we aim to address specific occupational hazards and challenges faced by all in the workplace. This approach not only promotes fairness and inclusivity but also enhances overall workplace safety and health outcomes by recognizing and mitigating risks including the concerns on different forms of violence and harassment. Emphasizing gender sensitivity in the OSH national profile underscores our commitment to creating environments where all workers can thrive, regardless of gender identity or expression.
- Thus the exercise will broadly target OSH issues including basic data on all the parameters that may affect the sound management of occupational safety and health both at the national and enterprise levels, legislative framework, enforcement and implementation mechanisms, workforce distribution, human and financial resources devoted to OSH and initiatives at the enterprise level, with a view to making proposals for the progressive improvement, harmonisation where necessary and implementation of National OSH Programme.

Objectives of the activity
The Consultant selected will work with the competent authority/ies and other designated authorities and partners concerned with the different aspects of OSH administration and in particular the most representative Organizations of Employers and Workers and key stakeholders to compile and present the information based on a combination of qualitative descriptions and quantitative data that may influence the sound management of OSH. The output of the consultant will include the following themes:
- Description of national OSH regulatory framework
- Scope, coverage and exclusions
- Institutions and programmes relating to OSH administration and/or enforcement
- Employers’ duties and responsibilities to protect the safety and health of workers and others
- Employers’ duty to organize prevention formally along generally accepted OSH management principles and practices
- Employers’ duty to ensure availability of expertise and competence in health and safety
- Workers' rights and duties
- Consultation, collaboration and co-operation with workers and their representatives
- Specific hazards or risks
- Recording, notification and investigation of accidents/incidents and diseases
- OSH inspection and enforcement of OSH legislation
- All elements listed under numbers 1 and 2 of paragraph 14 of the ILO Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Recommendation, 2006 (No. 197)

As well as provide information on whether and how:
- Legislation pays attention to the specific needs of men and women to ensure equality and inclusiveness in terms of prevention and protection.
- Legislation provides coverage of the sectors and occupations where women and men work.
- As part of the workplace risk assessment process, the legislation requires employers to assess psychosocial risks associated with stress, work-related violence and harassment and put into place measures to prevent or control those risks.
Other Related issues such as:
Other policies that may impact on OSH development and delivery Systems
OSH issues relating to international trade that may impact on the country
Other details and initiatives relevant to OSH in the light of ratification of OSH related conventions.
Recommendations and guidelines on ratification of key instruments on occupational safety and health by Armenia:
- Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 2006 (No. 187)
- Occupational Safety and Health Convention, 1981 (No. 155) and its Protocol of 2002
- Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 (No. 161)
- Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190)

In this section, the Consultant will provide general and specialized recommendations, as well as guidelines on promotion of key ILO instruments in regard to OSH.

Methodology
The Consultant will assess the national regulatory framework on OSH in the world of work, in line with ILO key instruments on Occupational Safety and Health and determine the extent to which the laws and regulations, policies, mechanisms and other measures would need to be adjusted or complemented to meet the requirements of ILO standards.
1. Develop an inception report of this consultancy and submit to the ILO. The inception report should also include an overall implementation plan, methodologies, desk review and information collection schedule, sample size and key informants and justification for the said sample, interview and research questions, and table of content of the report. The contents of the national OSH profile should cover the items mentioned in section Objectives of the Activity outline in this TOR.
2. Collect and review available information through published reports, research papers, and the government and other relevant websites etc., and prepare a list of the necessary additional information and a list of proposed government officials, employers, workers and other stakeholders to meet for interviews.
3. Conduct interview with key informants identified above.
4. Incorporate the findings from the desk review, existing publications and interviews into the draft report and provide recommendations and suggestions to develop a national OSH profile of the country. The profile should contain a comprehensive inventory of the tools and resources available in Armenia for implementing and managing OSH, including for recording and notification of occupational accidents and diseases.
5. The national OSH profile should provide detailed diagnosis of the OSH situation and compliance in the country and provide valuable basis for building current and future OSH initiatives designed to improve working environment in Armenia and enable the country to identify gaps in the existing legal, institutional, administrative, and technical infrastructure related to sound management of OSH
6. The consultant shall analyse the findings, compare existing situation to relevant ILO conventions and good practices, highlighting key challenges, gaps and weakness and based on the findings and conclusions, provide recommendations for addressing the gaps and reforming the existing situation in line with ILS. Ensure all the points and information mentioned in section Objectives of the Activity of the TOR are captured.
7. Submit the first draft report (in English) to the ILO for review and comments. ILO after a working discussion with all parties concerned will share the draft with other relevant stakeholders for comments.
8. Revised draft report based on comments received from the ILO and other relevant stakeholders and develop second draft report.
9. Prepare a PowerPoint Presentation (in English and Armenian) for the event and share it with the ILO for review and comments.
10. Present the second draft report at the validation meeting organized by the ILO with assistance of the Expert.
11. Finalize national OSH profile after incorporating final comments from the ILO and stakeholders and aligning with ILO formal requirements (Country (ilo.org)).

Expected outputs
The following are the deliverables from the Expert, which will be subject for review and approval of the ILO:
Key Deliverables Workdays Time frame
1. Draft an inception report, including an implementation plan of the consultancy, research methodology, interview questions, and draft table of content of the Report as per ILO requirements. The draft report should include all the points outlined in the Section Objectives of the Activity of the present ToR. All data should be disaggregated by sex (disaggregation by age and sector is desirable). The inception report should be shared to ILO. 10 17 August -27 August 2024
2. Desk review of key documents 10 28 August –8 September 2024
3. Conduct interviews, maintain brief interview notes and recordings. 10 9 September -19 September 2024
4. First draft of the national OSH profile and share with ILO. 7 20 September -27 September 2024
5. Second draft national OSH profile after incorporating comments from the ILO and stakeholder. validation workshops to present findings of the report and to get feedback from the key stakeholders. Preparation of PPT presentation. 3 28 September – 1 October 2024
6. Final draft OSH profile after incorporating comments from consultation to share with the ILO and stakeholders. 3 2 October– 5 October 2024
7. Finalize national OSH profile after incorporating final comments from the ILO and stakeholders and aligning with ILO House Style Manual. 2 6 October – 7 October 24

Reporting Format
For the draft reports
The reports, and its annexes, shall be submitted in English and Armenian in MS Word format, including any graphs and tables made available. The narrative part of the report should not be less than 40 pages.
For the tripartite consultation or validation workshops
Powerpoint (PPT) presentations presenting the key findings and recommendations in English and in Armenian.

For the final report
The final report, and its annexes, will be shared with the relevant key stakeholders for comments and endorsement of the recommendations put forward.
The report will need to carry the following disclaimer:
“The analysis and comments provided in this report are without prejudice to any eventual comments that could be made by the ILO supervisory bodies in relation to a ratified Convention.”

The ILO Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia will aim to provide support, where necessary, to facilitate connections.

ТРЕБУЕМАЯ КВАЛИФИКАЦИЯ : 

The Consultant must possess the following skills and qualifications:
- An advanced degree in law or legal studies;
- At least 5 years of research experience in issues of labour law, OSH, human rights, and/or women’s rights;
- Demonstrable experience in carrying out similar legislative analysis;
Strong analytical skills; and
- Fluency in both English and Armenian.
- The following attributes/experience would be desirable:
a) Previous work related to ILO Conventions;
b) Experience conducting research and/or analyses on OSH.

ПРОЦЕДУРА ПОДАЧИ ЗАЯВОК : 

Interested applicants should submit their expression of interest, including technical and financial proposals (Max. 5 pages) and CVs, to the E-mail: ************@***.***, no later than 12 August 2024, quoting “National OSH profile”.

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ДОПОЛНИТЕЛЬНЫЕ ЗАПИСИ : 

Contracting Unit: ILO DWT/CO in MOSCOW