Uzbekistan: Uzbekistan continues to work on improving national legislation

Uzbekistan continues to work on improving national legislation and promotion of international standards of decent work, inclunding the provision of supportive and safe working conditions, expansion of social protection, strengthening of social control and social partnership in guaranteeing the rights to decent working conditions.

These provisions have been formulated following the international conference“The role of trade unions in ensuring citizens' rights to decent working conditions: the experience of Uzbekistan” held in Tashkent on April 22-23.

The aim of the international conference is to study international experience, inclunding the experience of Uzbekistan, in the development and implementation of measures aimed at ensuring the reliable protection of citizens' rights to decent working conditions.

The conference was organized by the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan with participation of several ministries, agencies, inclunding the UN Development Fund and the International Labor Organization.

The conference was attended by the members of Uzbekistan’s parliament, members of the Senate, representatives of the national and public organizations, delegations of the International Labor Organization, International Trade Union Confederation, heads of the UNDP, EU, OSCE, UNICEF representative offices in the country, inclunding the international experts from a number of nations.

The conference participants stated that under the conditions of the ongoing world financial and economic crisis, the comprehensive practical application of the Decent Work Schedule of the International Labour Organization becomes very significant. In this schedule, the decent work serves as the core of social, economic and environmental development, plays a major role in ensuring balance and social justice.

The conference positively assessed the experience of some nations, inclunding Uzbekistan in raising the status of the national institutions of the social dialogue, eliminating the discrimination in the sphere of labor relations and protection of employees’ rights.

The conference participants said that the effective measures are taken in Uzbekistan to protect the socio-economic interests and labor rights of employees and their families, to raise living standards of people and to protect labor.

The country has accumulated significant practical experience in the development of social and labor institutions. Much has been done in such areas as improving the labor legislation, labor market regulation, professional training, pension system, social dialogue.

The Uzbek leadership’s decisions are being implemented for the development of small business, farms, home-based work, craftsmanship, the sphere of services, promotion of livestock production in private farms and the establishment of agricultural firms in rural areas. All this contributes to an increase in official employment of people and decent working conditions.

It was stressed during the conference that the major employee rights, enshrined in the Constitution and laws of Uzbekistan, are fully deriving from the international labor standards.

The signing of the ‘Decent Work Country Program for Uzbekistan (2014-2016)’ by Uzbekistan and ILO in 2014 became an significant step in the further development of the work.

Uzbekistan’s government has a general agreement with the Council of Trade Unions Federation, which unites over six million members in 14 industry trade unions, and the Trade and Industry Chamber.

The agreement stipulates a set of measures to ensure the creation of decent working conditions for different categories of workers.

The chairperson of the Trade Unions Federation of Uzbekistan, Tanzila Narbayeva, said at a final plenary session April 23 that the recommendations adopted by the conference will be presented to all interested international organizations, inclunding ministries, departments and public organizations of Uzbekistan and other nations.