Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2006, published 96th ILC session (2007)

Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) - Uzbekistan (Ratification: 1992)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its 2005 direct request, which read as follows:

1. The Committee notes the Government’s first report on the application of the Convention. It notes that the strategic goal of the labour relations reform is to increase employment on the basis of a more effective distribution and use of labour resources within the economy, to provide protection for workers’ rights while taking employers’ interests into account and to increase salaries in real terms and as a proportion of the national income. It further notes that the positive shifts in the economy that have taken place over the last few years have helped to reduce the unemployment rate. In 2003, 430,000 new jobs were created, of which 375,000 were in small businesses and the private sector. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the impact on employment of the structural reforms and the extent to which employment has been created in the private sector, especially in small and medium-scale enterprises (Article 1 of the Convention). Please also provide information on the impact of the measures taken to promote employment of vulnerable categories of workers (women, migrant workers, self-employed workers), of the reforms undertaken in agriculture and of the measures taken under the Public Employment Programmes.

2. The Committee also takes note of the interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) of May 2005. The share of the Uzbekistan population below the poverty line was estimated by the World Bank at 28 per cent. The growth of the working-age population and the enterprise restructuring has led to significant excess in labour supply. Moreover, there are structural imbalances in the labour market, which are reflected in the substantial amount of unofficial employment, generating irregular incomes for workers. The Committee asks the Government to provide in its next report information on decision-making procedures and on employment policy measures, and on how they are reviewed regularly within the framework of a coordinated economic and social policy (Article 1, paragraph 3, and Article 2(a)).

3. Article 3. The Government indicates that the activities to facilitate employment and provide social protection involve local government bodies, employers, trade unions and other workers’ representative bodies. It further indicates that the National Tripartite Commission discusses issues concerning management of social, labour and related economic relations, assistance in upholding workers’ guaranteed labour rights and social security at the national, sectoral and regional level. In its comment on the report submitted by the Government, the Council of the Trade Unions Federation of Uzbekistan (CTUFU) underlines that, under article 19 of the Employment Act, trade unions are entitled to take part in the development and implementation of national legislative acts and local government decisions on State employment policy. The proposals that CTUFU submits to local governmental bodies and employers on joint consultations are generally taken into account in regional agreements. The Committee requests that the Government provide more details on the functioning of the National Tripartite Commission in relation with the matters covered by the Convention.

4. Collection and analysis of statistics. The Committee notes that, according to data from the PRSP (May 2005), the unemployment rate in Uzbekistan is around 4 per cent. The report indicates that 429,600 jobs were created in 2003 (87.3 per cent were created in small and medium enterprises, 69.9 per cent in rural areas). The Committee notes that the collection of data and analysis of the labour market should be the basis for the formulation of an employment policy within the meaning of the Convention. It hopes that in its next report the Government will further describe measures taken in this respect. Please also provide more detailed statistics on the situation, level and trends of employment, unemployment and underemployment, by age, sex, level of education and sector of activity.

5. Education and training. The Committee notes the different programmes and measures that are being implemented in order to ensure quality education and to improve State management of employment placement, vocational training and retraining redundant workers and the unemployed. It asks the Government to provide in its next report, information on the impact on employment of these programmes and measures.

6. Employment service. The Government indicates in its report that the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection is responsible for the realization of the State employment policy. The CTUFU indicates that on 24 January 2001 was issued Joint Resolution No. 4-2-16/2, which sets out their agreement on coordination of employment-related activities. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the impact of the employment services in providing assistance to job search, training/retraining or public work programmes for unemployed workers. It also requests information on the implementation of the agreement on coordination of employment-related activities made by the Ministry and the CTUFU.