Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Uzbekistan

Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81) (Ratification: 2019)
Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129) (Ratification: 2019)

In order to provide a comprehensive view of the issues relating to the application of the ratified Conventions on labour inspection, the Committee considers it appropriate to examine Conventions Nos 81 (labour inspection) and 129 (labour inspection in agriculture) together.

Articles 12, 15(c) and 16 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 16, 20(c) and 21 of Convention No. 129. Powers of labour inspectors. 1. Moratorium on inspections. Following its previous comment, the Committee notes with deepconcern the Government’s statement that at present, no scheduled inspections are conducted in business entities due to a moratorium on inspections of the financial and economic activities of business entities, except for inspections conducted as part of criminal cases and in connection with the liquidation of a legal entity. The Government adds that, on the basis of applications from legal entities and individuals, the State Labour Inspectorate (SLI) has the right to initiate an inspection within the framework of the issues raised in the complaint. The Committee notes that the Presidential Decree No. UP-5490 of 15 March 2019 on Measures to improve radically the rules governing the protection of entrepreneurial activity and optimize the activities of the prosecutor’s office, which has established a ban on inspection activities starting from September 2018, is still in force. Recalling once again that a moratorium placed on labour inspection is a serious violation of the Conventions and with reference to its 2019 general observation on the labour inspection Conventions, the Committee urges the Government to eliminate the temporary ban on inspections and to ensure that labour inspectors are able to undertake labour inspections as often and as thoroughly as is necessary to ensure the effective application of the legal provisions, in compliance with Article 16 of Convention No. 81 and Article 21 of Convention No. 129.

2. Other limitations on labour inspections. The Committee notes with deepconcern that the restrictions on labour inspections, noted in the previous comment, established in the Presidential Decree No. UP-5490 of 15 March 2019, are still in force. In particular, section 5 of the Presidential Decree provides that: (i) all inspections of the activities of business entities conducted by regulatory authorities are subject to mandatory registration in the Unified System of Electronic Registration of Inspections; (ii) inspections carried out without registration in the Unified System of Electronic Registration of Inspections are illegal; and (iii) from 1 April 2019, the coordination of inspections and control over the legality of their conduct are carried out by the Commissioner under the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan for the protection of the rights and legitimate interests of business entities (hereinafter referred to as the authorized body). The Committee also notes that according to section 8 of the same Presidential Decree, the Ministry for the Development of Information Technologies and Communications, together with the Prosecutor General’s Office, shall develop the Unified System for Electronic Registration of Inspections which allows: (i) the authorized body to study the validity of the decisions taken by the regulatory authorities to conduct inspections and issue a permit with a unique code for their conduct; (ii) to supervise the compliance of regulatory authorities with the procedure for conducting inspections established by law; and (iii) business entities to receive, upon their request, information about the inspection in the form of short messages (SMS), as well as via the Internet in real time. The Committee notes that Annexes 1 and 2 of this Presidential Decree also set limitations on the duration of the inspections (one day for unscheduled inspections and between one and ten days for scheduled inspections). The Committee further notes that section 4 of the Presidential Decision No. PP-3913 of 20 August 2018, which provides that inspections based on a complaint cannot last longer than one working day and that during an inspection, inspectors may not interfere in the organization’s financial management activities, or any other of its activities that are unrelated to the object of the inspection, is still in force.

The Committee further notes the Government’s reference to the adoption of the Presidential Decree PP-374 of 13 September 2022, on measures to improve the procedure for coordinating inspections of business entities. The Committee notes with deepconcern that this decree contains a number of restrictions to the powers of labour inspectors, namely: (i) labour inspectors are obliged to provide a notification to the business entity of the commencement of the inspection no later than ten working days in advance and labour inspectors cannot conduct re-inspections (section 3(a)); (ii) business entities have the right to refuse inspections when the order to conduct an inspection was not drawn up in accordance with the established procedure or if the advance notification of the inspection was not carried out (section 3(b)); (iii) inspection activities are carried out only after preventive measures have been implemented (section 8 of the Appendix to the Decree); (iv) inspectors need to submit an application for approval of inspections to the authorized body (section 9 of the Appendix to the Decree); (v) the authorized body has the right to refuse inspections when: (a) the application for approval of the inspection has not been posted in the Information System; (b) in the event of initiation of an inspection in violation of the requirements of the legislation on appeals from individuals and legal entities; (c) if the facts that are the basis for initiating an inspection of a business entity are not confirmed; and (d) in case of violation of other requirements of legislation related to the activities of business entities (section 14 of the Appendix to the Decree); (vi) the order for inspections shall contain the purpose of the inspection, the term, and the period of activity subject to inspection (section 15 of the Appendix to the Decree); (vii) during the inspection, officials of the supervisory authority must not go beyond the timeline, the scope of their powers and the issues defined in the inspection programme (sections 23 and 25 of the Appendix to the Decree); (viii) before the start of the inspection, the inspector shall familiarize the head of the business entity with the purpose of the inspection, present him with an official ID giving the right to conduct the inspection, and provide copies of the documents that are the basis for the inspection (section 18 of the Appendix to the Decree); and (ix) inspections can only be carried out during working hours (section 25 of the Appendix to the Decree).

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that in 2022, labour inspectors carried out 23,930 inspections and audits, of which 4,997 were conducted in accordance with the approved plan in state organizations, 47 with the permission of the Commissioner for Entrepreneurs’ Rights at business entities, 3,713 as specialists engaged by the investigative authorities, and 15,173 based on complaints from individuals.

The Committee further notes that according to section 5 of the Appendix 2 of the Decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. 246 of 27 April 2017, concerning audits of occupational health and safety measures in workplaces to be carried out by legal entities on a contractual basis, no planned inspections should be carried out for three years in workplaces which are certified through such audits.

Lastly, the Committee notes that section 10 of the Regulations on the SLI, which provides for the powers of the inspectors, does not include the power to interrogate, alone or in the presence of witnesses, the employer or the staff of the undertaking on matters concerning the application of the legal provisions (Article 12(1)(c)(i) of Convention No. 81 and Article 16(1)(c)(i) of Convention No. 129) or the power to take or remove, for purposes of analysis, samples of materials and substances used or handled (Article 12(1)(c)(iv) of Convention No. 81 and Article 16(1)(c)(iii) of Convention No. 129).

Noting the extent and the gravity of these restrictions, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that labour inspectors: (i) are empowered to make visits to workplaces liable to inspection without previous notice, in conformity with Article 12(1)(a) of Convention No. 81 and Article 16(1)(a) of Convention No. 129; (ii) are empowered to carry out any examination, test or inquiry which they may consider necessary in order to satisfy themselves that the legal provisions are being strictly observed in conformity with Article 12(1)(c) of Convention No. 81 and Article 16(1)(c) of Convention No. 129; (iii) can choose not to notify the employer or his representative of their presence, if they consider that such notification may be prejudicial to the performance of their duties, in accordance with Article 12(2) of Convention No. 81 and Article 16(3) of Convention No. 129; and (iv) are able to undertake labour inspections as often and as thoroughly as is necessary to ensure the effective application of the legal provisions, in compliance with Article 16 of Convention No. 81 and Article 21 of Convention No. 129.

The Committee recalls once again that, in the context of the implementation of the Decent Work Country Programme 2021–25, the Government can avail itself of the technical assistance of the ILO.

In addition, recalling once again that the performance of a sufficient number of unannounced inspection visits, as compared to inspections with prior notice, is necessary to enable labour inspectors to discharge their obligation of confidentiality with regard to the source of any complaint and also to prevent the establishment of any link between the inspection and a complaint (Article 15(c) of Convention No. 81 and Article 20(c) of Convention No. 129), the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted in order to ensure that labour inspectors treat as absolutely confidential the source of any complaint and give no intimation to the employer that an inspection visit was made in consequence of the receipt of such a complaint. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the number of scheduled inspections carried out based on the authorization of the competent authority and of those inspections conducted as a result of a complaint. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the number of requests for inspections submitted to the competent authority and the number of cases where such authorization was refused, and to indicate the reasons for the refusal.

Articles 17 and 18 of Convention No. 81 and Articles 22 and 24 of Convention No. 129. Effective enforcement and adequate penalties. The Committee notes the indication in the Government’s report that, in accordance with the Occupational Safety Act, and also the Regulations on the SLI, when violations of legislation are detected, the labour inspectors will first issue an order to address the violations identified and take preventive measures. The Government adds that, in the event of failure to comply with the order, in accordance with the Administrative Liability Code, inspectors shall consider cases of administrative offences under the articles 49, 49-1, 49-2, 49-3, 49-4, 50, 50-1, 51 and 51-1 of the Administrative Liability Code. The Government also indicates that inspectors are not empowered to impose administrative fines and that when administrative proceedings are brought against business entities, state labour inspectors submit the materials to the court in accordance with article 245(3) of the Administrative Liability Code. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that in 2022, inspectors identified 89,586 violations of labour legislation, and issued 9,331 orders to remedy the violations identified, 10,622 enterprise officials were brought to administrative responsibility in the form of an administrative penalty, 1,098 items were handed over to law enforcement agencies, including 878 items resulting from special investigations of industrial accidents, and that in 9,535 cases of breaches of labour legislation identified, no penalties were imposed against enterprise officials as a result of prompt remedial actions. The Committee recalls that according to Article 17(2) of Convention No. 81 and Article 22(2) of Convention No. 129, it should be left to the discretion of labour inspectors to give warning and advice instead of instituting or recommending proceedings. Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to adopt the necessary measures in order to give effect to these provisions of the Conventions. The Committee further requests the Government to provide information on the nature and number of violations detected in the course of inspections, the number and nature of proceedings referred to the court and the subsequent sanctions imposed, including the amount of fines.

The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that section 538 of the Labour Code establishes liability for the obstruction of labour inspectors in the performance of their duties. However, the Committee notes that the legislation does not establish a sanction for such violation. In this regard, the Government indicates that work is under way to establish a measure of responsibility. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures adopted in order to introduce sanctions for cases of obstruction of labour inspectors in the performance of their duties.

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