ILO: Systemic use of child and forced labor in the cotton industry of Uzbekistan has come to an end

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A report of the International Labor Organization (ILO) published by the International Labor Organization (ILO) on 1 April 2019 admits that the systematic use of child and forced labor in the cotton industry of Uzbekistan has come to an end. This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan.

Thus, one of the most authoritative and oldest international organizations in the world confirmed a significant improvement in the rights of workers in this area of Uzbekistan in all aspects, which was a recognition of the effectiveness of the efforts made in this direction and firm commitment of the republic’s leadership to fulfill all its international obligations and national programs, focusing on the principle “The state must serve the interests of the individual”.

The ILO assessment is based on an interview. Large-scale monitoring indicates that the country is undertaking significant reforms in the field of protecting the basic labor rights to harvest cotton. According to the report, in 2018 more than 93% of the participants in the harvesting campaign were in no way involved in compulsory forms of employment, and there was also no systematic involvement of students, teachers, doctors and nurses.

Separate attention is deserved by the conclusions that child labor, which was previously a serious problem at harvest time, is no longer so.

ILO Deputy Director General Heinz Keller stated that the cotton harvest in 2018 was an important milestone in the process of reforming Uzbekistan and successfully combating child and forced labor.

The document also recognizes a significant improvement in working conditions in the agricultural sector of Uzbekistan, in particular, an increase in pay for cotton pickers and increased freedom of speech and expression, recognizes the improvement in the situation with ensuring press freedom, as well as the open interaction of Uzbekistan with human rights organizations and civil society activists.

Interviews conducted by ILO monitors and local human rights defenders in all regions of the country included cotton pickers and other groups that are directly or indirectly involved in the harvest. In addition, a comprehensive telephone survey of more than 3,000 randomly selected people was conducted. Before harvesting, ILO experts organized fair hiring training for about 7,000 people who are directly involved in hiring cotton harvest workers.

The report states separately that cotton picking expands women’s economic opportunities in rural areas. Participation in cleaning provides many women with additional cash income, which they can use to improve the situation of their families.

Another important recognition of the achievements of the republic in the agrarian sphere was the analysis of the fact that, on average, each collector participated in the harvest for 21 days. At the same time, the wages received from the collection amounted to 39.9% of their personal annual income.

The document also recognizes the effectiveness of feedback mechanisms in the Ministry of Labor and the Federation of Trade Unions, which received and investigated more than 2500 cases and allegations of violations. During the 2018 harvest, 206 officials and managers were punished with fines, demotions and layoffs.

As noted, the ILO Third Party Monitoring Project (SST) in Uzbekistan will now focus on remaining issues. In particular, on the need for a gradual transfer of responsibility for monitoring labor inspection to trade unions, local human rights defenders and investigative journalists.

At the same time, it is necessary to emphasize that the achieved results in the field of human rights protection in Uzbekistan are due, above all, to the irreversible transformations undertaken by the country’s leadership in the framework of the adopted Action Strategy on the five priority development areas of the country for 2017-2021, which marked the beginning of a new phase of comprehensive reforms .

Uzbekistan is firmly committed to further improving the system of ensuring the rights, freedoms and legitimate human interests in the country and will continue to move along the path of real reforms, and the efforts undertaken are holistic, stable and irreversible. Work will also continue to further improve the institutions and mechanisms for the protection of human rights, including by enhancing interaction with international and non-governmental organizations.

This is the decisive condition for the successful implementation of the most important tasks of the transformations carried out in Uzbekistan under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, whose main goal is a person, his needs and interests.