Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

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

Articles 1 and 2 of the Convention. Formulation and implementation of an active employment policy. The Committee notes the set of legislative and administrative regulations implementing the provisions of the Convention. The Committee also notes the information on the ILO Internet site about the new Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) 2021–2025 for Uzbekistan based on four priorities: (i) improving the regulatory framework governing labour relations; (ii) enhancing decent work and better employment opportunities for youth, women and vulnerable groups, generated by inclusive and equitable economic growth; (iii) extending the access of the most vulnerable groups to equitable, inclusive and quality education and social protection; and (iv) strengthening social dialogue and the institutional capacities of the social partners. The Government also refers to a procedure for the formation of a state order for job creation, established in accordance with the Employment Act. The annual state order for job creation is based on a forecast prepared by government bodies and other organizations regarding the number of jobs required for the implementation of projects included in the Investment programme, the comprehensive development programme for territories and sectorial modernization programmes. The Government further informs that as of 1 July 2023, the labour force accounted to 19.7 million people and the number of employed persons in various sectors of the economy reached 13.9 million. As of 1 January 2023, the unemployment rate was 8.9 per cent compared to 9.6 per cent as of 1 January 2022. The Committee, however, notes that the Government does not reply fully to its previous comments.

The Committee must examine these policies in light of its most recent comments on the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105). In its 2024 observation on that Convention, the Committee, while taking due note of the eradication of systemic forced labour, also noted observations from the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) alleging that ’de facto quotas’ (now called ’district forecasts’) remain in place. It further noted allegations that local authorities (hokimiyats) ’continue to pressure neighbourhood councils (mahallas) and farmers to meet these quotas’ and, in some cases, “ordered public employees ... from hokimiyats, schools, hospitals and other public institutions ... to pick cotton”. The Convention No. 105 Committee specifically requested the Government to “address the root causes leading to the coercion ... including the issues created by the cluster system and the pressure exercised by local authorities”. The Committee, therefore, referring to its 2024 observation on Convention No. 105, urges the Government to provide specific information on the measures taken to ensure that its national employment policy, including the “state order for job creation” and the “comprehensive development programme for territories”, promotes genuinely freely chosen employment. It specifically requests the Government to report on the alleged ’de facto quotas’ (or ’district forecasts’) and to ensure that hokimiyats and mahallas are not used to exert pressure or ’order’ any person, particularly public employees, to pick cotton or perform other labour against their will, in line with the request to address the root causes of coercion under Convention No. 105. The Committee also invites the Government to continue to provide updated labour market data, disaggregated by age, sex and region, on the level and trends of employment and unemployment.

Education and training. The Government informs that in accordance with the Employment Act, a system has been introduced for approving a state order for the vocational training of unemployed persons and jobseekers, based on the labour market demands and forecasts of demographic development, number of jobseekers and unemployed persons, number of people needing vocational training, number of graduates from schools and colleges and priority training areas needed to implement projects within development programmes. The Government also states that during the reporting period 32 “Ishga Marhamat” monocentres operate across the country, offering to the unemployed persons services like career counselling, vocational training in in-demand fields and entrepreneurship training. In addition, there are 53 vocational training centres and 601 small-scale training points in mahallas (community neighbourhoods). The Government stresses that vocational training institutions implement the principle of “lifelong learning” aiming to train all unemployed people starting from age 16, including retirees and unemployed persons with disabilities. The Committee notes the information that from January to November 2023, employment services under the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction directed 122,100 unemployed persons to training and upskilling programmes in 75 professions in demand in the labour market of whom 79.3 per cent were women and 45.6 per cent were youth. During this period, approximately 76,100 unemployed persons completed training, and 64,700 individuals (52.9 per cent) found employment: 29,400 obtained permanent jobs, 34,900 were registered as self-employed and 363 started their entrepreneurial ventures.

The Committee notes these efforts in the context of the ILO’s diagnostics for Uzbekistan, which informed the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) 2021–2025. These analyses identify persistent skills mismatches and a large informal economy as major barriers to productivity and decent work, which the DWCP’s priorities are designed to address. The Committee requests the Government to provide a more detailed analysis of the impact of its training measures. It specifically requests an explanation of how the “state order for vocational training” is designed to be flexible and responsive to actual labour market demands, rather than a top-down quota system. Government is also requested toprovide a qualitative breakdown of the 64,700 employment outcomes, in particular the nature and sustainability of the 34,900 “self-employed” placements, and report on the measures taken to ensure these placements lead to decent work in the formal economy.

Specific categories of workers. The Government refers to a system of subsidies to employers who offer job opportunities to persons with disabilities. From January to December 2022 such subsidies were allocated to 793 businesses for hiring 1,710 persons with disabilities. The Government also informs about the National Programme for Promoting Employment of Persons with Disabilities for 2022 under which 15,297 persons with disabilities had been employed and from January to December 2023, 16,087 received employment assistance from labour authorities. The Government further informs that in 2022 the number of employed women reached 5.7 million and at the beginning of 2023 the unemployment rate of women was 13.4 per cent. In addition, the Government states that the share of women is high in some sectors like healthcare and social services (76.6 per cent) and education (75.6 per cent) but remains low in transportation (7.2 per cent) and construction (5.8 per cent). The Committee notes that the objectives of the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan for 2022–2026 include reducing the unemployment rate among women, providing vocational training for more than 700,000 unemployed women and girls at the state’s expense and implementing comprehensive measures to engage women in entrepreneurship and self-employment. The Committee notes these figures in light of the concluding observations of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in 2022 (E/C.12/UZB/CO/3), which expressed concern about the gender pay gap and persistent occupational segregation, with women concentrated in low-paid sectors – as the Government’s own data confirms. The Committee requests the Government to provide detailed information on the measures taken to promote productive employment for vulnerable workers:

• Concerning women, the Committee, referring to the 2022 concluding observations of the UN CESCR (E/C.12/UZB/CO/3), asks the Government to report on the concrete measures being taken, beyond numerical training targets, to tackle the structural causes of the high female unemployment rate (13.4 per cent) and the “persistent occupational segregation”.
• Concerning persons with disabilities, the Committee requests the Government to clarify the nature of the employment provided to the 15,297 persons under the National Programme (2022) and the 1,710 persons receiving employer subsidies. Government is also requested to specify what proportion of this employment is in the open labour market versus in sheltered employment. If sheltered employment is utilized, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on measures taken to facilitate the transition of these workers to the open labour market.

Young persons. The Government informs that in 2023 the number of employed young persons reached 4.4 million, accounting for 32.3 per cent of all employed persons and in the beginning of 2023, the unemployment rate of youth was 14.4 per cent. The Government also refers to the Youth Employment Programme developed by the Neighborhood-Based Work Agency and the Youth Affairs Agency and implemented in all regions of the country. In addition, through cooperation with district (city) employment and poverty reduction offices, 342,1000 young people received assistance in finding employment or starting their own business under this Programme. The Committee however notes the concern expressed by the Committee on economic, social and cultural rights in its concluding observations about the high rate of young people, particularly women, who are not in employment, education or training after secondary education (E/C.12/UZB/CO/3). The Committee requests the Government to provide a more detailed analysis of the impact of the Youth Employment Programme, explaining how it is specifically targeting the high rate of young people (NEETs) identified by the CESCR and addressing the barriers to their integration, particularly for young women in rural areas.

Article 3. Participation of the social partners. The Government indicates that according to the Employment Act trade unions and their associations have the right to participate in the development of state programmes in the field of employment, propose measures to ensure employment, including creating new and preserving existing jobs, improving organizational activities, and preventing mass lay-offs. In addition, trade unions make proposals for the creation of new jobs and the establishment of a minimum number of jobs for individuals who are not competitive in the labour market. These proposals are generally considered when developing territorial employment programmes. The Government also informs that in cooperation with the ILO, a project titled “Supporting the Development of an Innovative Active Employment Policy for Post-Crisis Recovery in Uzbekistan” was implemented in the period May 2022–May 2023. This Project aimed at strengthening the capacity of tripartite partners and other stakeholders in the evaluation, development, and implementation of socio-economic programs and the recovery of the economy, contributing to employment growth.

The Committee must examine these claims in light of its most recent 2024 Observation on the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1947 (No. 87), and recalls that genuine tripartite consultation on employment policy, as required by Article 3 of Convention No. 122, can only take place with the full participation of free and independent social partners. In light of its comments on Convention No. 87, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken to ensure a legal and practical environment where independent workers’ organizations can be established and participate freely in the consultations required by Article 3 of Convention No.122. It requests the Government to provide specific examples of how the social partners’ inputs have materially influenced the design and implementation of the “state order for job creation” and the Development Strategy of New Uzbekistan.