On July 21, a video conference dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the UN on the theme "SDG and sustainable social development"was held within the framework of the ILO Global Summit.

The discussion was organized by the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of foreign affairs, the National center for human rights, and the United Nations development program in Uzbekistan.

It was attended by the heads of both chambers of the national Parliament, various structures of the United Nations, WHO, ILO, and a number of ministries and departments of Uzbekistan.

Opening the meeting, the first Deputy Speaker of the lower chamber of the Parliament, Akmal Saidov, and the UN resident coordinator in Uzbekistan, Helena Fraser, noted the special significance of activities to achieve the Sustainable development goals. Chairman of the Senate Tanzila Narbayeva, Speaker of the Legislative chamber Nurdinjon Ismailov, WHO Director-General Tedros Adanom Gebreisus, WHO regional director Hans Kluge, assistant Director-General for priority issues in Africa and external relations Eduard Firmin Matoko, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay addressed the participants of the videoconference.

A video message was heard from Heinz Koller, Deputy Director – General of the ILO - Director of the ILO regional office for Europe and Central Asia, who noted that the pandemic is not only a health crisis, but also a deep shock to the economy and society around the world. It poses a serious risk of distancing the global community from achieving SDG 8 on decent work and other related goals. In this regard, the International labour organization has mobilized all means to help the tripartite partners since the beginning of the pandemic. During his speech, H. Koller expressed gratitude to the Minister of employment and labor relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan N. Khusanov for his fruitful participation in the regional summit of the ILO, held on July 1 this year.

Heinz Koller praised the Government's efforts to ensure decent working conditions both in normal times and during the crisis, noting that "Uzbekistan has demonstrated political commitment and leadership". According to him, the country continues to focus on the most pressing problems of the national labor market, support for vulnerable segments of the population, and the formation of a renewed spirit of social dialogue and international cooperation.

In conclusion, he stressed that the International labour organization is ready to support the government of Uzbekistan and social partners "to accelerate progress in achieving the SDG again".

During the first session of the event, topics related to the need to redouble efforts to achieve the SDG in Uzbekistan after the pandemic were discussed. On the particular relevance of the task, pushed to the fore in this period, the attention of the meeting participants drew the assistant Secretary-General of the UN and special adviser to the UNDP Administrator Abdoulaye Mar Die.

The participants of the videoconference were presented with the "Voluntary national review of Uzbekistan on SDG implementation after COVID-19". Then there was also a presentation on "Human rights at the heart of the 2030 Agenda: Voluntary commitments of the Republic of Uzbekistan in connection with the nomination of the Republic of Uzbekistan to the human rights Council".

Holud al-Khaldi, Deputy Director of the ILO Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, presented a comprehensive analysis of the Eighth sustainable development goal, which provides for decent work for all. According to her, the implementation of the SDG in Uzbekistan coincided with an ambitious program of economic and social reforms, which has a profound impact on the labor market, as well as on the level and quality of employment in the country. Thanks to the comprehensive and structural reforms implemented in the country in recent years, Uzbekistan has made significant progress in achieving almost all the sdgs.

Nozim Khusanov, Minister of employment and labor relations of Uzbekistan, introduced the participants to the experience of creating decent working conditions in the post-COVID-19 era. He informed the participants of the Summit in detail about the large-scale anti-crisis measures taken by the Government under the leadership of President Sh. M. Mirziyoyev in order to stimulate employment, preserve jobs and incomes of workers, ensure safety and health in the workplace, prevent discrimination and social exclusion.

In particular, in Uzbekistan, with the support of the ILO, comprehensive work is being carried out to formulate a National employment strategy, which will become a key strategic document for the labor market
until 2030.  450 billion soums (us $ 25 million) were allocated to expand the scope and scope of services of the Public works fund for temporary employment. Only during the three months of the pandemic, about 230 thousand unemployed citizens were employed at the expense of the Public works fund.

In addition, a mechanism has been developed to subsidize low-income families for the development of household plots and the creation of agricultural cooperatives, which provides income for more than 40 thousand families. Due to the allocation of additional subsidies for the development of entrepreneurship, 3 thousand unemployed people were employed among the population. The procedure for receiving unemployment benefits has been simplified, and almost 20,000 unemployed people have received benefits under the new procedure. In General, for three months of well-coordinated work, the Ministry provided employment and permanent income to 374 thousand citizens.

During the period of the pandemic, a set of measures aimed at protecting workers in the workplace was also implemented, as well as systematic monitoring of health and safety standards in enterprises.  Monitoring groups of labor inspectors visited 5 thousand 757 enterprises. There is a separate "Callcenter" - a hotline with a short number "1176". The State labor inspectorate has reviewed 8,2 thousand complaints from citizens regarding violations of labor laws and discrimination in the workplace, including 3 thousand appeals from women. According to the results of inspections, 3.6 thousand citizens, including 1.2 thousand women, have their labor rights restored.

Taking into account the need for urgent transfer of employees to the "remote" work mode in the context of the pandemic, the Ministry has introduced a "Provision on the temporary procedure for transferring employees to work in remote work mode". Priority for the right to work remotely is given to pregnant women, the elderly, people with disabilities and employees with chronic diseases.

In conclusion, Nozim Khusanov also stressed that the anti-crisis measures taken by Uzbekistan fully comply with the four main principles of the International labour organization to combat the pandemic: 1) stimulating the economy and employment, 2) supporting businesses, jobs and income, 3) protecting workers in the workplace, and 4) social dialogue.

Discussions within the framework of the Global summit on topical issues of interaction in the context of the pandemic and in the period after it will continue.