Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 17 March 2021, the chairman of the Uztekstilprom Association, Ilkhom Khaidarov, held the First meeting of the Confederation of Employers of Uzbekistan, after the approval of Mr. Khaidarov as chairman of the board of the confederation.

The Confederation of Employers of Uzbekistan was created in 2018 to protect the interests of employers in economic, social and labor relations at the national level in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Until 2020, the Confederation was headed by A. Ikramov, Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan. During the event held in June 2020, the Chairman of the CCI A. Ikramov proposed to elect the Chairman of the Uztekstilprom Association I.U. Khaidarov as the new Chairman of the Board of the KRU, this initiative was unanimously supported by the participants of the general meeting.

At the event, which was attended by the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce A. Ikramov, Chairman of the Association "Uzcharsanoat" F. Boboev, members of the Confederation and enterprises of the textile industry, I. Khaidarov presented to the participants a presentation on expanding the activities of the Confederation, plans for the future.

In particular, I. Khaidarov noted that the board of the Confederation of Employers of Uzbekistan was transferred to the leadership of the Association "Uztekstilprom" not by chance. Today the textile industry of Uzbekistan is one of the socially and strategically important sectors of the country's economy. Over the past 4 years, over 50 thousand new jobs have been created in the republic, with an annual increase of 15 thousand new jobs. And thus, the industry remains the leader in employment with 360 thousand workforce in the country.

When implementing projects in the textile industry, special attention is paid to ensuring the employment of youth and women in remote regions of the republic. The textile industry is a leader in the implementation of international ISO standards. However, more than 45 enterprises in the industry have also implemented international BSCI standards (For reference: The Business Social Compliance Initiative is focused on the continuous improvement of the social performance of suppliers, leading to the implementation of best practices in this area. The BSCI Code of Conduct is based on the provisions of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, based on the International Labor Organization, the UN Conventions on the Rights of Children and the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the UN Global Compact, the OECD Recommendations for Multinational Companies and other relevant internationally recognized treaties).

The work of the confederation will be aimed at improving the quality of working conditions, in particular, it is planned to introduce the Better work program of the International Labor Organization. In this direction, programs will be developed jointly with the International Labor Organization, Human Rights NGOs and foreign nursing associations.

Also, I. Khaidarov presented projects aimed at training personnel for the textile industry, such as Textile Tower, Textile Academy for which international experts and institutions will be involved.

The views of the members of the Confederation on the prospects for the development of its activities were heard at the meeting. Plans to develop cooperation with the International Labor Confederation and the ILO were supported. It is proposed to expand the confederation by attracting new members of republican employers.