Mr. Erkin Mukhitdinov

First Deputy Minister of Employment and Labor Relations of Republic of Uzbekistan

Report on theme: “Sustaining Progress by Transformation”

Dear Mr. Tom MacKall,

Dear participants,

First of all, let me greet all of you and express our gratitude
to Mr. Kevin Cassidy, Mr. Jonas Astrup, Mr. Nate Herman, Mr. Eric Biel, Mr. Shukhrat Ganiev, Ms. Leyla Strotkamp and Ms. Allison Gill for active involvement in such an important event for Uzbekistan.

 We highly appreciate the established partnership and mutual understanding in solving the issues vital for the labor market.

We would like to thank the representatives of American businesses, as well as to note that cooperation between Uzbekistan and the United States is reaching a new level. This is confirmed by the fact that last year the trade turnover between our countries grew to $596 million, nearly double the 2018 total. This growing trade, in turn, makes a significant contribution to the creation of jobs both in Uzbekistan and in the United States.

In my today’s speech I will give an overview to the emerging situation in Uzbekistan’s labour market and focus on 5 lessons which we have learnt during the past harvest campaign, highlighting the government reforms for labour market transformation and sharing achieved practical results, latest facts, figures, and proposals some of which will be revealed for the first time.

I would like to note that the issue of job creation is urgent not only in Uzbekistan, but around the world, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The labor market of Uzbekistan is facing enormous pressure due to the growing number of unemployed. Nearly 400 000 enterprises have temporarily stopped their activity or reduced the workload due to coronavirus. Due to strict lockdown measures, we estimate that nearly 150 000 citizens have already lost their jobs, 498 000 approximately of migrant workers have returned home without a source of income, and more than 200 000 of Uzbek families have now fallen below the poverty line.

In this challenging situation, it is more important than ever for us in Uzbekistan to create new jobs. The textile industry, being one of the country’s leading sources of employment, is a key part of the solution.

The most recent cotton harvest campaigns have taught us five important lessons that I would like to outline for you today.

The first lesson is that the use of any form of forced labor during the cotton campaign has a very negative impact on the development of our cotton and textile industries and undermines the reputation of our country.

The Government of Uzbekistan continues to implement decisive measures to achieve elimination of forced labor in cotton sector.

We are glad to see the results of the reforms and measures taken in Uzbekistan that have confirmed the elimination of child labor. Therefore, the United States has removed Uzbek cotton from the list of products produced with child labor.

We have also made significant progress in elimination of systematic forced labor. During four years of reforms and cooperation, the number of forced labor cases during cotton harvest has been reduced by four times – from 448 000 people in 2015 to 102000 in 2019. There were no cases registered of systematic recruitment of students, teachers, nurses, doctors.

The results of the reforms have been recognized by the international community and by human rights organizations.

The second lesson is that the Government must take strict measures to eradicate forced labor and ensure their practical implementation.

We acknowledge that there are further actions needed to end forced labor during the cotton harvest.

This is evidenced by a new law signed by our President on criminalization of the use of forced labor. We are serious about enforcement of this new law.

Last year, the administrative fines for forced labor were increased from 30 to 50 times reaching up to average monthly income in the country.

The State Labor Inspectorate under our Ministry imposed administrative penalties on 259 officials, including 132 officials who failed to uphold human rights during the cotton campaign. Among the punished are 18 district and city khokims (mayors) and their agriculture deputies. Two khokims and seven regional managers were fired for violating human rights.

These actions sent a clear message: high officials will be held accountable for imposing forced labor in their respective territories and organizations.

The number of labor inspectors has doubled from 200. We now have labor inspectors who can react quickly to forced labor cases even in the most remote areas.

The third lesson is that the deep roots of forced labor in cotton production will require hard work and focused efforts to be eradicated.

The reforms must also focus on the economic structure of the agricultural sector. We are moving towards a cluster production scheme that will see cotton cultivated and then used to make textiles and apparel.

Accordingly, if the sales volume of cotton clusters increases, they can improve the level of mechanization, and reduce manual harvesting.

Another very important decree recently signed by the President focused “On Measures to Introduce Market Principles in Cotton Production,” ending the state directives over the production, pricing, and sale of cotton from 2020.

The purchase price of raw cotton will be liberalized, and farmers will be able to freely use loans and choose service companies.

The economic rights and interests of the farmers will increase.

he fourth lesson is that the cotton sector is a critical source of employment for hundreds of thousands of citizens, so the importance of reforms cannot be rejected.

It is important to keep in mind that one of the effective ways to end forced labor in the cotton industry is the introduction of modern market mechanisms, including wages for increase in the number of voluntary cotton pickers.

In 2019, payment for manual picking of cotton ranged from 800 to 1200 soums per kg, depending on the harvesting period. This reflects a 400 percent increased compared to compensation in 2015, strengthening the motivation for voluntary cotton pickers.

It should be noted that in addition to wages for cotton picking and encouragement of raw cotton producers, special attention is paid to ensuring safety and decent working conditions for cotton pickers, such as accommodation, food, transportation, and other necessary facilities.

The fifth lesson is that the involvement of civil society is essential to effectively address forced labor.

We rely on public organizations and human rights activists for their valuable input and to reach common goals. We conduct regular joint meetings to strengthen our cooperation.

As a result of a meeting between our Ministry and local human rights activists in October 2019, a feedback channel was created in social messenger to quickly respond to requests from civil society representatives.

For the first time in the 2019 cotton campaign, we involved human rights activists in the monitoring process and provided them with certificates for free access to the cotton fields.

Dear participants!

Based on the results of the lessons we have learned, and the political will of the highest authorities we plan the following actions in preparation for the upcoming cotton season:

1. to inform the local subdivisions and districts that forced labor is not acceptable in agriculture or any other economic sector. We plan to conduct large-scale trainings for local authorities (“khokims” – mayors), employers including textile clusters, farmers, lawyers, judges, prosecutors, labour inspectors with the involvement of national and international ILO experts.

Every single person will be notified about prohibition of forced labor. We will be able to provide them with mechanisms to more effectively conduct the harvest by showing the benefits of attracting workers through employment centers and also public цўклқ.

With the help of prosecutor’s office and other state bodies, we will be able to raise awareness of the responsibility for forced labor. To ensure the implementation of amendments to the criminal code related to forced labor, the judges, prosecutors, and attorneys will be trained on forced labor issues in accordance with ILO standards and international practices.

Additionally, trainings will be held for employees of organizations included in the territorial commissions on combating human trafficking and forced labor. You know that the head of this National Commission is Chairperson of the Senate of Uzbekistan.

Therefore, we develop effective ways for gathering information and materials related to criminal liability to the prosecutor's office. In addition, we will continue to improve our interactive channels, feedback mechanisms, and our call-center capacities to respond even more effectively and quickly.

2. We will work directly with hiring managers, clarifying the correct way of formulating employment contracts. This year, we plan to work with clusters and farmers, who are the main agricultural producers.

To implement the principles and practice of decent hiring of workers for temporary and seasonal contracts, as well as creating favorable working conditions, our Ministry has developed the draft of guidelines on hiring procedures.

We would like to initiate and ask the ILO to consider the implementation of “BetterWork” global tools in Uzbekistan, which would help to implement best international decent work standards into the entire supply chain of textile industry.

3. we want to strengthen the capacity of our regional Employment promotion centers for hiring workers by agricultural companies. We worked on this task last year, and we want to further expand it by providing advance payments to employees, arranging transportation, and providing decent living conditions on the ground. We are planning to involve in this process private employment agencies also.

We will also assist in the implementation of these tasks and will in no way interfere in the affairs of agricultural producers. We will fulfill the role of the ones between the unemployed and employers, assisting both sides.

4. We plan to further increase our engagement with civil society activists and work with them in each region of our republic. With their support, we will be able to improve monitoring in all areas and quickly act upon information received from activists and send it to the relevant authorities.

In addition, regular tripartite meetings between the State Labor Inspectorate, national human rights organizations, civil society activists, and the ILO are planned.

We take this opportunity to invite Cotton Campaign Coalition for direct cooperation during the monitoring of the 2020 cotton campaign.

To facilitate more effective dialogue, we also propose creating a four-way mechanism for interaction between the government, our cotton farmers and textile manufacturers, foreign brands and civil society groups on the elimination of forced labor.

In addition, we support the idea of Cotton Campaign to create independent seasonal workers’ unions, and we would suggest that NGOs consider this idea and create similar unions. In particular, if our participation is necessary, we are ready to assist and help in any way that we can.

To sum up, I would like to thank all participants for such fruitful cooperation with our republic and for the assistance that you have provided regarding the elimination of forced labor. We are encouraged by the progress made so far and we see a bright future ahead for Uzbekistan’s cotton industry and our citizens. 

I wish all participants success and hope for an active dialogue in the future.

Thank you for your attention!