Labor regulation reforms can influence employment creation, earnings, and workers’ well-being, as well as the economic performance of firms. While there is extensive literature on labor regulations, most focus on OECD countries and some major emerging economies. Labor regulations and their impacts are not nearly as well documented and understood elsewhere.

As part of the World Bank’s recent Mongolia Jobs Diagnostic, we highlight key findings from the recent labor law reform in Mongolia. Mongolia’s experience is interesting for two reasons. First, as a small, resource-rich country now seeking to diversify and modernize its economy, Mongolia’s assets and its challenges are common among many low- and middle-income countries. Second, in considering policy reforms, Mongolia has been grappling with how to update a regulatory framework to respond to a rapidly changing economic and social context.

In 2022, Mongolia enacted a new Labor Law that replaced legislation adopted in the days after its transition from a planned to a market economy in the early 1990s. Our review of the new legislation found that the new law generally brought Mongolia’s labor regulations more in line with practices in other countries and ILO international standards, most notably by introducing new protections for workers. The new regulations are still relatively flexible, and the review carried out for the Jobs Diagnostic suggests they are not a hindrance to job creation.

Mongolia’s recent reform points to two priorities for effectively regulating labor markets in developing countries to respond to changes in their economies and their societies: modernizing labor regulations and improving enforcement and compliance.

Modernizing labor regulations

Labor laws need to respond to changes in the economic and social contexts in which they operate. The nature of work is shifting rapidly with the expansion of non-standard employment, such as platform work, which raises issues that differ from those associated with industrial jobs. Meanwhile, changing family roles and emerging pressures on both men and women to balance work and family responsibilities calls for regulatory approaches that accommodate these new realities. While developed countries have been implementing reforms to reflect these trends, this is not the case in most developing countries, despite the fact that they are being affected by similar developments.

Mongolia’s new law considers these changes in the organization of work and in society. By introducing provisions that recognize non-standard forms of employment while providing more support for working families, the reform aims to improve overall job quality and to encourage labor force participation.

The law defines labor rights and working conditions for part-time, remote, and home-based work, which were not included in the old law. The general principle is that all forms of work should be treated equally. For example, the law states that home-based workers should access the same labor rights as full-time employees working at the employer’s workplace.

At the same time, the law reflects the evolution of parenting roles and the need for reconciling work and family life, adopting a gender-balanced approach. Mongolia provided 120 days of maternity leave in the old law. The new law introduces paid leave for fathers (at least 10 working days), which was not in the old law. As in the old law, employers also need to grant parental leave for childcare if a mother or father with a child under three years of age submits such a request. While lengthy leaves may potentially discourage employers from hiring workers with children, especially women, and there are other hindrances such as social norms on gendered roles, providing legal rights for parental leave for both women and men is still a key step to promoting gender equality.

Improving enforcement and compliance

Effective regulation depends not only on content but also on enforcement. While Mongolia’s new labor law puts worker protection more in line with changing realities and international standards, it does not fully address the issue of how to ensure compliance.

The new labor law gives inspectors the right to inspections without prior notification to employers, but in reality, this right cannot be exercised because it does not comply with the Law on State Inspection that prohibits inspections without prior notification to employers. There is currently a draft law on “Temporary Suspension of Certain Types of State Inspection Activities,” which proposes a temporary suspension of scheduled inspections for three years. Additionally, the law does not change the fact that labor inspections are conducted in response to complaints from employees who must identify themselves. This has a chilling effect on complaints and enforcement.

Finally, Mongolia will have limited capacity to enforce the new law. While it has expanded coverage to more work forms and a wider set of workplace issues, inspection agencies do not have increased resources commensurate with their responsibilities. There were only 85 registered labor inspectors in 2020, which means there was one inspector for about 14,000 employed people.

There has been evidence of significant non-compliance in the past. This includes not providing overtime benefits, paying less than the legal minimum wage, and excessive working hours (Figure 1). The average number of weekly working hours was 51 hours in 2019, which is higher than the 40 hours regulated by law, and 22.8 percent of all workers worked more than 60 hours per week. Unless the inspection procedures and resources are improved, it is unlikely that the Labor Law, including its new features, will achieve the desired objectives.

Figure 1: Percentage of inspected entities not complying with the law in Mongolia

Figure on percentage of inspected entities not complying with the law in Mongolia

Source: Data obtained from General Agency for Specialized Inspection (GASI).

Mongolia’s new labor law has features that address the rapidly changing world of work. However, it is equally important to minimize the gap between the regulations stated in the books and their effective implementation. Developing countries have typically been stretched to reduce this gap because of limited resources and high levels of informal economic activity.

This challenge will only increase as labor law must now cover a proliferation of employment forms, changing concepts of the “workplace,” and more diverse workforces. Mobilizing more resources and introducing innovations in enforcement need to be prioritized for achieving effective labor market regulation in Mongolia and other developing countries.

(source: world bank)

Today the Vice-Chairman of the State Great Khural of Mongolia L. Munkhbaatar received the delegation headed by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to Mongolia M.P. Singh.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Vice-Chairman of the State Great Khural L. Munkhbaatar noted that major projects and programs significantly contribute to the enrichment of the Strategic Partnership between Mongolia and India with new content, and development is taking place intensively, and congratulated the Indian partners on the occasion of the 76th Anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of India. At the meeting, the parties discussed the progress of the Oil Refinery Construction Project and exchanged opinions.

Considering the time to spend on the engineering work of each oil refinery facility, the construction work is divided into 4 parts: ЕРС-01, ЕРС-02, ЕРС-03, and ЕРС-04 (ЕРС: Engineering-Purchase-Construction). ЕРС-01 package work or construction of non-technological buildings started in 2021. They are working to hand it over within this year. The contractor for EPC-02 and 03 package works and construction of crude oil pipeline was selected in 2022 and the contract was signed. Currently, the design work is in the final stage, and the construction work at the factory site officially started in April of this year. H.E. Ambassador M.P. Singh presented the announcement of the tender for the selection of the EPC-04 package construction contractor. He noted that the Minister of Finance of Mongolia and Exim Bank of the Republic of India signed a new loan agreement on the ЕРС-01, ЕРС-02, ЕРС-03 projects for the construction of the oil refinery in Mongolia, and postponed the loan repayment period until 2030.

CEO of Engineers India Limited Vartika Shukla said that due to the pandemic and international geopolitical situation, increase of the price of materials, machinery and equipment on the world market affects the total investment expenses of the project. As it is necessary to solve the problem of additional funding for the implementation of the EPC-04 set of works, she asked the Parliament to support their endeavors.

With the completion of the oil refinery, Mongolia will get rid of dependence on fuel imports, and a new branch of the petrochemical industry will be created in the country reducing foreign trade deficit. The Vice-Chairman of the State Great Khural of Mongolia L. Munkhbaatar underscored that the Parliament will fully support and pay attention to the creation of a favorable legal environment and the coordination of relevant institutions in order to successfully implement the project, a symbol of cooperation between the two countries.

Executive Director of "Mongolian Oil Refinery" LLC D. Altantsetseg, Project Management Consultant for Oil Refinery, Chairman and Managing Director of Engineers India Limited Vartika Shukla, General Manager of EXIM Bank of India Nirmit Ved, and other officials took part in the meeting.

As a part of the “Project for Supporting Bosnian Farmers of Peja with Equipment for Production of Milk and Dairy Products”, Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) provided machines used in the production of milk and dairy products to the farmers in Peja and Istog Municipalities in Western Kosovo.

Emilija Rexhep, the Deputy Prime Minister of Kosovo for Minority Issues and Human Rights; Fulya Aslan, TİKA’s Coordinator in Pristina; and producers attended the delivery ceremony.

At the ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister Rexhepi stated that she is more than glad to participate in such an event in which TİKA supports the projects of the members of minority communities in Kosovo. Expressing their hope that producers will better organize their works with support from TİKA, Rexhepi said, "I would like to congratulate all of you once again on the project in hopes that we, as the Government of Kosovo, will maintain our partnership with the Turkish government institution TİKA."

TİKA’s Coordinator Aslan also explained that TİKA has carried out various projects in this field to meet the need for food of the people of Kosovo, enhance the agriculture and livestock sector which has a critical position in the country’s economy, and improve the conditions of production.

Drawing attention to the issues due to the inadequacy of animal and agricultural products for the increasing global population and the lack of food security in products, Aslan said, "Today, we aim to allow the production of healthy milk and dairy products, that are processed with modern and sanitary methods through the milk cooling tanks and the equipment for the production of dairy products which we will provide to our dear farmers, and therefore to ensure quality production and food security."

As a part of the project, 10 farmers were provided with machinery used in the production and storage of milk and dairy products.

Mongolia is a landlocked country uneasily poised between China and Russia. The Pope’s historic trip may be a diplomatic opportunity as well as a pastoral visit to one of the world’s most remote Catholic communities. -- In March, the new head of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia was announced. At a large gathering of monks in Dharamshala, the north Indian Himal-ayan town where the Dalai Lama has been based since 1960, a year after he took exile in India after fleeing China, he indicated that the small boy sitting next to him was the tenth reincarnation of the Jebtsundamba Khutuktu. It was an event of considerable political as well as religious significance. The Jebtsun-damba is considered the third-highest spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism globally — after the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama himself. Mongolia is economically dependent on neighbouring China, which has made clear its disapproval of unauthorised reincarnations of Buddhist lamas within its own territories.

The announcement of the reincarnation of the Jebtsundamba by the Dalai Lama is being followed six months later by another significant religious event with political overtones. On 31 August Pope Francis is due to arrive in the capital Ulaanbaatar for a four-day visit, following an invitation from the Mongolian President, Ukhnaagiin Khürelsükh, in August 2022. It will be the first visit of a Pope to Mongolia, though John Paul II made known his wishes to visit in 2003. It follows the nomination of Fr Giorgio Marengo, Apostolic Prefect of Ulaanbaatar, as a cardinal in August 2022. A little more than half of the 3.3 million population of Mongolia is Tibetan Buddhist; only 2 per cent is Christian (most of them Protestant). According to Aid to the Church in Need, the remainder of the population is 39 per cent atheist, 3 per cent Muslim and 3 per cent Shaman.

The Pope plans to visit the small Catholic community of under 1,500 baptised native Mongolian Catholics. He will speak with Mongolian authorities, open the House of Mercy charity centre, which will provide assistance for the poor and shelter for women fleeing domestic violence, and preside at an ecumenical and interreligious meeting. The trip is the latest sign of Pope Francis’s determination to support small Catholic communities in regions beyond North America and Europe and his desire to encourage the reinvigoration of the Church’s missionary activity in Asia and Africa. His arrival in Ulaanbaatar also illustrates Mongolia’s complex and delicate geopolitical position. This landlocked country’s other neighbour is Russia, embroiled in its conflict in Ukraine. The Church of the East has had a presence in Mongolia since the seventh century. The Catholic Church was first introduced in the thirteenth century, during the Mongol Empire, but disappeared with the ending of Mongol dominance in the Far East. It would not reappear until missionary activity began in China in the mid-nineteenth century and a mission was founded in Mongolia. This ceased when the communist Mongolian People’s Republic was established in 1924. After the collapse of communism in the early 1990s there was a smooth transition to democracy, and religious freedom established itself, allowing for the return of Catholic missionaries.

In 1992 the Vatican established diplomatic relations with Mongolia. This return of Catholicism and its previously small-scale presence in the country has meant, in the words of Cardinal-designate Marengo, that “at a popular level, it is believed that it is something new, which has come from abroad”. However, Catholicism since 1991 has slowly developed and blended itself within local communities. A Catholic bible in Mongolian script was published, a Verbist Centre for street children was established, and in 2016 Joseph Enkh Baatar became the first indigenous priest from Mongolia in a millennium. The growth of the community, especially in Ulaanbaatar, owes much to the rapid urbanisation rate of a city with a population three times as large as its infrastructure was built to shelter.

The cramped conditions, brutally cold winters, high pollution, unemployment, and alcoholism which has often been associated with domestic abuse have created social problems that Catholic charities have sought to address. However, to this day there is only a tiny number of baptised Mongolians in the Catholic community, alongside many more worshippers from the Philippines, South Korea and elsewhere. Tibetan Buddhism is by far the most significant religious community in Mongolia: ethnic Mongolians outnumber ethnic Tibetans among Tibetan Buddhists globally. Shamanism remains reportedly widespread in Mongolia, though the difficulty of defining shamanism, with its strong integration with aspects of Buddhism and Mongolian culture, make the precise numbers hard to pin down.

Buddhism is not the official religion of Mongolia but it is acknowledged as being of “civilisational importance” to the state and has had an identity-informing role for ethnic Mongols during their history, especially post-1991. Mongolia’s government has in general remained aloof from “temple affairs”. This arm’s length approach is being challenged by the geopolitical complexities raised by the reincarnation of the Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, given China’s heavy involvement in Mongolia’s economic, political and religious affairs. Mongolia shares a land border of 4,700km (2,920 miles)with China and more than 4 million ethnic Mongols live in China’s Inner Mongolia region, though they remain under 20 per cent of the population of the province.

Mongolia has significant natural resources that China manufacturing-based economy needs, and almost all Mongolia’s exports go to China. It is thus wary of being dragged into disputes with Beijing over religious matters. China’s role in Tibetan Buddhism is complex. The political activism of the Tibetan diaspora under the leadership of the Dalai Lama is a major irritant for Beijing. This movement pits Tibetan nationalism against the Chinese desire to maintain control over the Tibetan plateau. In 2007, China’s State Administration of Religious Affairs issued an order requiring official registration and Chinese government approval of all reincarnations of Buddhist lamas. Beijing also supports pro-Chinese Mongolian Buddhist movements and has ties to Mongolia’s historic Amarbayasgalant monastery.

In 1995 the Dalai Lama’s candidate for the Panchen Lama disappeared; three days later he was replaced by a candidate selected by Beijing. Then in 2016 the Dalai Lama visited Mongolia, when he is now believed to have identified the new Jebtsundamba, after which it is reported that Beijing imposed damaging fees on transit and commodity imports, exposing Mongolia’s economic dependence. Therefore, the Dalai Lama’s declaration in Dharamshala of the tenth reincarnation of the Jebtsundamba presents a religious and political conundrum for Beijing and Ulaanbaatar. The relationship is further complicated by ingrained Sinophobia within parts of Mongolian society. Anti-Chinese rhetoric has often played a role in domestic politics. Mongolia has complicated historical relations with both its neighbours, while it has bilateral security relations with the US and pursues relationships with Asian states such as Japan and India, Mongolia gets much of its energy from Russia and sells most of its exports to China. It is understandably wary of antagonising either.

The war in Ukraine has brought the precarious geopolitical situation into sharp focus. Mongolia has abstained from UN votes condemning Russia’s invasion, but has refused to criticise sanctions imposed on Russia by the West, even though they have made it more difficult for Russian banks to pay Mongolia for imports. The prospect of a new Cold War with the West facing off against a Beijing-Moscow axis is a major concern.

The Pope is aware of the sensitivities around the Buddhist presence, authority and legitimacy in contemporary Mongolia. He is no stranger to the difficulties of establishing positive relations between religious authorities and the Chinese Communist Party: the Vatican’s 2018 deal with the government in Beijing over the appointment of bishops – intended to bring Chinese Catholics together under a single hierarchy – is under increasing strain. Diplomats say Mongolia might be used as an intermediary with China. Francis’ visit to Ulaanbaatar will provide pastoral support to the Catholic community, revive the historical memory of Christian encounter with Mongolia and potentially begin to chart the contours of a new relationship between the religious authorities and the governments of the region.

BY

Jerome O’Mahony is a freelance writer with a special interest in geopolitics and religion in Asia.

Mongolian businesses operating in the tourism sector have paid MNT 63.6 billion in taxes as of the first half of this year.

If to take tax payments of the tourism sector for the last three years:

- In 2019, 1,320 companies and organizations paid MNT 87.1 billion,

- In 2020, 1,348 companies and organizations paid MNT 47.1 billion,

- In 2021, 1401 companies and organizations paid MNT 65 billion,

- In 2022, 1,637 companies and organizations paid MNT 94.2 billion,

- As of the first six months of 2023, 1,376 organizations contributed MNT 63.6 billion to the state budget.

In the first half of 2023, compared to this period of the last 3 years, the tax revenue of the tourism sector has increased and tends to exceed the previous indicators. In the future, the number of tourists coming to Mongolia will increase, and the tourism industry will have a significant impact on Mongolia's economy, envisages the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.

The Government made the tourism sector a priority of the economy and announced 2023-2025 as the "Visit Mongolia Years". This year, a target of "one million" tourists has been set, and so far, more than 390,000 tourists have already visited Mongolia.

Charles Krusekopf provides an overview of Mongolia’s mineral resources, with a focus on its large deposits and growing exports of copper. He highlights the opportunities for cooperation with the United States, Japan, South Korea, and European countries on mining development as well as the challenges Mongolia faces in developing its mineral resources and exporting them to markets beyond China.

Mongolia is one of the largest countries in Asia by land area, and it contains extensive mineral deposits, including copper, coal, fluorspar, gold, iron, petroleum, tungsten, uranium, and zinc. Minerals account for nearly 90% of its exports, and given the country’s geographic location, limited capital, and lack of infrastructure, almost all exported minerals are sold directly to China after minimal domestic processing ....

See the full story on the link https://www.nbr.org/.../mongolias-development-of.../

During its regular session on August 16, 2023, the Cabinet made the following decisions:

Until the legal framework is updated, there will not be any decision on land possession or use in Ulaanbaatar issued

The Government discussed and approved the draft resolution on some measures to be taken in Ulaanbaatar in connection with disaster risk prevention, disaster relief, urban planning and land management.

The resolution stipulates to take measures towards developing drafts of the Land Package Law and other related laws to ensure the balance of human safety, common interests, environment and ecology, green development, economic and social development in respect of the general planning, land organization, utilization, and urban construction of Ulaanbaatar and submitting to the 2023 Autumn Session of the State Great Khural for discussion. Relevant ministers were assigned to develop draft law to operate the Agency for Land Administration and Management, Geodesy and Cartography within the Prime Minister's portfolio and submit it to the State Great Khural along with the 2024 Budget Draft Law. Until the Draft Laws and regulations are adopted, it was instructed not to take any decision on the possession or use of new land within Ulaanbaatar.

It was tasked to study every issue of land possession and use, construction of buildings on special needs land, public domain land, road and network land, forest and water reservoir land, and protection zones thereof in violation of legislation, and undertake measures to organize land release measures in conformity with appropriate laws and regulations.

It was assigned to study issues of relocating families and businesses that have settled in flood zones, charging officials who granted land in violation of legislation, increasing responsibility for settling in the flood protection zone without permission, filling flood dams and canals with garbage and construction debris, and building structures by blocking dams and canals, carrying out disaster risk assessment at the city level by an international specialized organization, considering an issue of taking the land with water reservoirs, streams, and their protection zones for the state special use and submit the draft decision to the Cabinet meeting for discussion.

It was reflected to include in the annual state budget the costs to incur during the stages of disaster prevention, protection, planning and implementation of actions and response measures in disaster situations, ensure preparedness, resolve required investment for strengthening the budget, technique, equipment, and human resources capacity of emergency organizations, improve activities of announcing and reporting natural disaster, delivering signals and warning information.

The Prime Minister will head the National Committee for Urban and Rural Revitalization, Regional Development, Urban Planning and Land Management

The National Committee for Urban and Rural Revitalization, Regional Development, Urban Planning and Land Management will be established within the Prime Minister’s portfolio. Due to continuous rains in Ulaanbaatar, which led to floods along the Selbe and Dund Rivers, and along the Dari-Ekh auto road, putting people's lives, health, and property at risk, it was considered appropriate to sort out the problem of chaotic and unplanned land grant and the concentration of buildings involving scientists, researchers and professionals, and grounding on the research and analysis of international and professional organizations, resolve the issues of land organization, urban planning, and development in an integrated manner.

The Cabinet decided to establish this National Committee in order to sort out the problems of buildings and structures that do not meet the requirements of urban-rural revival, regional development, and urban planning, which are included in the "New Revival Policy".

Within the scope of "Glass" operation, 8404 conclusions of the State Commission were uploaded to www.shilen.gov.mn

The Minister of Digital Development and Communications N. Uchral presented the conclusions of the Operation "Glass" and the State Commission for commissioning buildings and facilities, as well as the information on buildings and their owners at the Cabinet meeting. The Ministry of Construction and Urban Development has uploaded 8404 conclusions of the State Commission covering the years 2008-2023 at www.shilen.gov.mn.

As part of "Glass" operation, last May, it was revealed who, when, to whom, for what reason, for what purpose, and how much land was granted over the course of 23 years. Minister N. Uchral said that the name, composition, and architectural planning information of the State Commission for commissioning buildings and structures has been made public, and all the processes from land granting to the commissioning of buildings and structures are now under the direct supervision of the public.

The Governors of the provinces and Ulaanbaatar were assigned to fully reflect in the unified digital system egazar.gov.mn information on the decrees on granting, cancellation, transfer and extension of land use and possession rights, as well as the information on the conclusions of the State Commission for commissioning buildings and facilities, and the Minister of Construction and Urban Development was instructed to take measures to create conditions for creation and open publication of the unified architecture planning database respectively.

Brief news

Based on the requests submitted by ministries, agencies, provincial Emergency Commissions and citizens to the State Emergency Commission to resolve the expenses incurred in the elimination of damages caused by natural disasters such as fires and floods, the goods and materials to be released from the state reserves are approved, and over MNT 1 billion 820 million will be allocated from the Government Reserve Fund.

The "Agreement between the Government of Mongolia and the Government of the Republic of Poland on International Road Transport Relations" signed in Ulaanbaatar on April 25, 2023 was ratified.

Mongolia have stepped up preparations for the reception of foreign tourists after the announcement of 2023-2025 as Visit Mongolia Years. The country aims to ensure economic growth in the tourism sector as a priority for development.

The Ministry of Environment and Tourism said that Mongolia plans to host 150,000 tourists from South Korea this year.

32,800 tourists came from South Korea this July.

323,900 foreign tourists visited Mongolia in the first seven months of this year. 129,000 of them were from Russia, 68,800 from South Korea, 52,200 from China, 12,800 from Kazakhstan, 9,100 from Japan, 8,400 from USA, 4,300 from Belarus, 4,200 from Germany, 3,400 from France, 2,800 from Türkiye.

An agreement was signed for the international accreditation of halal and organic certification in Mongolia. The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, and Mongolian National Authority for Accreditation has agreed to accredit Mongolia's organic and halal product certification organizations with the Gulf Accreditation Center (GCC) and the International Organic Accreditation Service (IOAS).

This is technical assistance to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to improve Credibility and Conformity Assessment capacity within the framework of the "Export Support" project implemented by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry with the financing of the World Bank.

It has an importance to increase the competitiveness of private sector enterprises in exporting value-added agricultural products in accordance with the requirements of importing countries.