ILO and World Bank experts visit cotton fields in Uzbekistan
17/10/2014 16:32
ILO and World Bank experts visit cotton fields in Uzbekistan
17/10/2014 16:32
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Uzbekistan has been conducting national monitoring of child labour at cotton fields at the assistance of International Labour Organization (ILO) since 18 September 2014, the Secretariat of Coordination Council on child labour of Uzbekistan said in a statement.
Currently, eight territorial monitoring groups, consisted of representatives of Trade Unions, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, as well as Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, are working in the regions.
For the first time, representatives of NGOs were attracted to the activities of the monitoring groups. The monitoring is conducted in line methodology and software of ILO. The coordinators visit cotton field each day and data included to database.
As of 15 October 2014, the experts of the territorial monitoring groups passed 30,000 km and visited 123 rural districts. They made 548 visits of potential risk areas, including colleges, academic lyceums and farms.
The statement said that attendance of students at academic lyceums and professional colleges mad eup 89% in line with data of territorial monitoring groups.
Sport sections, study groups, foreign language courses and other hobby groups were organized for children. In all schools, it was announced that children under the age of 18 cannot be attracted to cotton picking campaign.
The prosecutor bodies and local administrations warned that heads of educational establishments will be personally responsible for adhering to legislation on labour of under ages. The parents signed written liability that their children will not be attracted to cotton harvesting.
On several cases of participation of children at cotton fields, territorial monitoring groups registered protocols and with help of labour inspections launched administrative responsibility cases.
Data of territorial monitoring group show that heads of the farms create necessary conditions to work and reset of cotton pickers, who are supplied with food and drinking water. They regularly receive payments for collected cotton.
ILO provides consulting and expert assistance to hold national monitoring. The experts of ILO visited regions of Uzbekistan, who highly rated monitoring work and inexistence of systematic attraction of under ages to cotton harvesting. The ILO experts also visited educational establishments and familiarized with education process.
Representatives of the World Bank visited Samarkand, Bukhara and Ferghana regions, where the bank implements projects, in September and October.
Acting head of World Bank Country Office in Uzbekistan N. Nakwi said that the bank’s representative visited cotton fields and did not see children at the fields.
All workers had contracts with farms and copy of passports. The youngest worker was at the age of 19. The World Bank representatives did not see any evidence that schoolchildren were attracted to cotton picking.
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