Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2016, published 106th ILC session (2017)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Uzbekistan (Ratification: 2008)

The Committee notes the Government’s report received on 9 September 2016 and the observations of the Council of the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan (CFTUU), received on 21 November 2016.

Article 3(a) and (d) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Forced or compulsory labour in cotton production and hazardous work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the various legal provisions in Uzbekistan which prohibit both forced labour (including article 37 of the Constitution, section 7 of the Labour Code, and section 138 of the Criminal Code) and the engagement of children in watering and picking cotton (pursuant to the list of occupations with unfavourable working conditions in which it is forbidden to employ persons under 18 years of age). It also noted the adoption of a Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) 2014–16, which contains components on the application of the Convention and the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), as well as their corollary indicators to combat child labour.

The Committee further noted that the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) noted positively the rapid development in the country towards a complete eradication of child labour. Moreover, the Committee noted from the report of the Third Party Monitoring (TPM) of the use of child labour and forced labour carried out during the 2015 cotton harvest, that the authorities had taken a range of measures to reduce the incidence of child labour and make it socially unacceptable; the awareness on the unacceptability of using children under 18 years for the cotton harvest was high; and that the use of children in the cotton harvest had become rare and sporadic. It finally noted from the TPM report that a feedback mechanism (FBM) with telephone hotline numbers was established by the Tripartite Coordination Council on Child Labour which received allegations and investigated grievances while providing redress in some cases. The Committee welcomed the measures undertaken by the Government to prevent and eliminate the use of child labour during the cotton harvest which had a significant impact, including the very low number of children identified as involved in cotton-picking in 2015 by the TPM teams. The Committee requested the Government to continue its efforts to prevent and eliminate the use of child labour during the cotton harvest.

The Committee notes the information provided by the CFTUU on the findings of the national monitoring of the child and forced labour conducted in 2016. According to this information, the national monitoring group conducted 386 visits to the regions and cities of Uzbekistan, covering 1,940 entities, including 522 farms, 322 colleges and high schools and 123 pre-school educational institutions. During these visits, the monitoring group found five minors in the cotton fields, three of whom were involved in cotton-picking.

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government in its report on the various measures it has taken, recently, to prevent the engagement of children in cotton harvest. According to this information:

• -the employment of students under the age of 18 years in cotton harvest was banned by the Cabinet of Ministers at its July 2016 session;
• -recommendations for a well-managed cotton-picking season and the creation of conditions for cotton-pickers which aims at observing the rule of law and the effective abolition of child labour in the cotton harvest was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in August 2016;
• -an action plan to provide for free employment of cotton pickers by farming enterprises which contains measures to prevent the employment of students under the age of 18 years in cotton picking was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in July 2015;
• -a hotline of the State Labour Inspectorate was operational as of September 2015 which received a total of 456 calls related to labour law violations during the 2015 cotton harvest; and
• -within the framework of the joint integrated action plan on the participation of employers and employees in the implementation of ILO Conventions on forced and child labour, a total of 70,000 farmers were trained on preventing the worst forms of child labour in 2015–16.

The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that negotiations are under way to extend the DWCP until 2020.

The Committee notes from the report of the ILO TPM and assessment of measures to reduce the risk of child labour and forced labour during the 2016 cotton harvest (TPM report) that since the 2015 harvest, the Government has made further commitments against child labour and forced labour, especially within the Action Plan for Improving Labour Conditions, Employment and Social Protection of Workers in the Agricultural Sector 2016–18. Measures to prevent child labour and forced labour include ministerial instructions, awareness and training events, extracurricular activities for children and attendance tracking of pupils and staff. The Committee notes from the TPM report that the two-phased (pre-harvest and harvest phase) assessment of measures by the seven assessment teams, led by ILO experts working together with national counterparts indicated that: (i) several training workshops to build the capacity of officials were conducted before the harvest; (ii) public awareness campaigns during the harvest reached remote villages; and (iii) the messages on child labour and labour rights, and on the FBM hotline were distributed nationwide on 836 banners, 44,500 posters, 100,000 leaflets, TV, radio and SMS texts. As a result, the unacceptability of child labour is recognized by all segments of society. According to this report, the 180 kindergarten and schools, and over 39 colleges and lyceums, which the monitoring team visited, functioned normally during the harvest and recorded a high pupil attendance. The TPM report, in its conclusions, states that the national monitoring, the FBM and the Ministry of Public Education are playing an increasing role in preventive measures and has put in place measures to prevent the organized use of children in the cotton harvest. The report further states that child labour generally does not exist in cotton picking and that ongoing vigilance, in this regard, seems to be fully recognized in Uzbekistan.

The Committee notes with interest the policy commitments undertaken by the Government and their impact in preventing and eliminating the use of child labour during cotton harvest. The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to ensure the effective implementation of national legislation prohibiting compulsory labour and hazardous work for children below the age of 18 years. It also requests the Government to continue its measures to monitor the cotton harvest, strengthen record keeping in educational institutions, apply sanctions against persons who engage children in the cotton harvest, and further raise public awareness on this subject. Lastly, it requests the Government to continue to implement the DWCP in collaboration with the ILO, and with the participation of the Coordination Council. In this regard, please provide information on whether the DWCP has been extended until 2020.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.