Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Today, on 12 June, in the form of a videoconference, a meeting was held between the Chairman of the Senate Oliy Majlis, the Chairman of the National Commission to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labor, Tanzila Narbaeva, and the Director General of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Guy Ryder.

Representatives of relevant ministries, departments and international organizations took part in it.

During the videoconference, the experience of Uzbekistan in socio-economic support of the population in the context of the coronavirus pandemic was discussed. In addition, work on the implementation of the ILO conventions and the implementation of the agreements reached during the visit of the Director General of the ILO to Uzbekistan was discussed.

It was noted that in recent years, issues of ensuring employment, creating decent working conditions and preventing forced labor have been raised to the level of state policy. In this direction, in recent years 15 regulatory legal acts have been adopted, 6 conventions and protocols of the International Labor Organization and the International Organization for Migration have been ratified.

Chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis Tanzila Narbaeva elaborated on the work carried out in Uzbekistan in this direction. In particular, attention was focused on the ongoing work to counteract COVID-19, mitigate the impact of the global crisis that arose as a result of the pandemic, preserve population incomes, and measures taken to ensure the stable operation of enterprises.

“This meeting is also significant because it coincided with World Day Against Child Labor,” said Senate Chairwoman T. Narbaeva. - On this day, our cooperation with the International Labor Organization began previously. It is no exaggeration to say that today we are witnessing its positive results. It should be noted that the President this year in his Address to the Oliy Majlis for the first time in the history of Uzbekistan identified priority tasks to reduce poverty. In achieving these goals, first of all, attention is paid to improving national legislation and increasing the level of employment.

At present, on the basis of ILO recommendations, it is planned to develop by October of this year the legal framework for a living wage and a minimum consumer basket. This issue is especially relevant during today’s pandemic.

The President adopted 17 decrees and resolutions on mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the standard of living of the population and the economy. It is noteworthy that these documents are aimed at ensuring employment and social protection of the population, support for business.

It should be noted that the anti-crisis measures taken by Uzbekistan are fully consistent with the four main principles of the ILO against the pandemic.

Given the initiative of each state to ratify one convention in honor of the centenary of the ILO, only in 2019 Uzbekistan ratified 3 conventions and 1 protocol of the ILO. Today, national legislation is fully aligned with these conventions. Continuing this work this year, we are considering ratification of 3 more conventions.

Also, since 2020, the state order for the cultivation and sale of cotton has been canceled. This will allow us to gradually move towards market relations in the issue of cotton cultivation and the eradication of the main factors contributing to the use of forced labor.

Of course, much work remains to be done to completely eradicate forced labor and bring national legislation in line with international standards. Together with the ILO, we will continue to work on the application of international labor standards in practice.

During the video communication, it was noted that this year the National Rapporteur for the first time analyzed the work carried out in this direction and the information was presented to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Information was also heard by the Minister of Employment and Labor Relations, the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan, and the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce on the activities in this direction.

During the video conversation, the ILO Director General emphasized that Uzbekistan has carried out large-scale and effective work to mitigate the impact of the global crisis caused by the pandemic, to preserve incomes and ensure employment, and to create decent working conditions. At the same time, suggestions and recommendations were made to further improve the efficiency of work in this direction.

Also, during an online meeting with the aim of further developing bilateral cooperation, it was agreed to develop a new Decent Work Country Program for 2021-2023.