As a way to express transparency and openness to accountability, the Government of Uzbekistan restated its strategy of expanding labour rights protection and improving compliance with international labour standards. This is part of the Development Strategy framework adopted by the Uzbek Government for the period 2017-2020.

Among the various activities undertaken to achieve this objective, the Uzbek government just launched an annual report on “Labour Rights Enforcement in Uzbekistan”, that presents the action undertaken to achieve decent work, including by the Labour Inspectorate.

“The report provides an annual overview of efforts to strengthen labour laws and regulations, updated information on the structure and management of key bodies responsible for labour rights enforcement, and data on the monitoring, investigation, and outreach activities of the Ministry”.

Attention is given to the long-standing issue of forced labour in the cotton harvest, one of the main achievements of the labour reforms according to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Mention is made of the findings of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Bank “Third Party Monitoring” for the 2020 cotton harvest: “the ILO Continues to find that systematic child labour is no longer used during the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan. Systematic forced labour did not occur during the 2020 cotton harvest. Reforms are implemented step-by-step and continue to have significant positive impact. In 2020, more than 2 million people participated in the cotton harvest. The national share of cotton pickers subject to direct or perceived forms of coercion was 4 percent, a reduction of one-third compared to 2019. By comparison, the share of forced pickers was 14 percent in 2015. [...] The 2020 harvest was also the first in which Third-Party Monitoring observed regions with no forced labour cases”.

Another information worth of note is the draft of a new labor code, to be adopted by the end of 2021. The code would replace the current labour code that has been in place since 1995. It contains provisions such as increasing the minimum working age until the end of the compulsory education age.

The paper gives information on the national institutions of key importance to enforce labour regulations, that are:

1. The National Commission for Combatting Trafficking in Persons and Forced labour
2. The Republic Tripartite Commission on Social and Labour Issues, established in 2020, as a consequence of the ratification of Convention N. 144. Its main tasks are “consultation and coordination of positions on issues of ensuring the implementation of socio-economic policy aimed at protecting labour rights”, economic and social interest of employees and consultation in view of possible ratification of ILO Conventions. This Commission also dealt with determining working conditions for cotton pickers and the sample of a contract for temporary seasonal work.

The report then focuses on the increased strength of the Labour Inspectorate in terms of size and role, and the improved system of feedback to report labour rights violations.

This national report and development strategy follows the information provided by the last information shared by the International Labour Organisation, outlining how “the systematic and systemic use of child labour and forced labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry has come to an end, although some local vestiges still remain. [...] The report, compiled for the World Bank, shows that one in eight people of working age in Uzbekistan participated in the cotton harvest. This makes it the world’s largest recruitment effort. Sixty-five percent of pickers were women, and the vast majority were from rural areas. Systematic child labour has been eradicated and child labour is no longer a major concern”.

In addition, the ILO highlights how with the Covid-19 pandemic, workers have been benefitting of higher wages in the cotton harvest. “Many Uzbeks migrant workers returned to Uzbekistan as a result of the pandemic which resulted in more people being available for the cotton harvest. [...] The main motivation for Uzbeks to pick cotton was the opportunity to earn money. On average, each picker participated in the harvest for twenty-one days and earned 1.54 million soums (equivalent to US$150). This is higher than the average salary of a teacher in Uzbekistan. The cotton harvest accounted for a crucial part of most pickers’ livelihood. Sixty percent of pickers said that the 2020 cotton harvest was their only source of cash income this year”.