News

Kazakhstan: Workers increasingly resorting to strikes, and succeeding

Dialogue is preferred to confrontation, although salary imbalances are still strong. The year has started uncomfortably for Kazakhstan’s mining and oil companies as workers become more vocal in their demands for higher salaries.

Land-grabs – the new red flag for Uzbek cotton sector

Apparel brands are said to be eyeing Uzbekistan as a potential source of cotton, particularly with Xinjiang cotton now the subject of US sanctions. A process of reform has made significant progress on forced labour issues in Uzbekistan, but now another issue has arisen: land-grabs. In this special piece for Apparel Insider, Lynn Schweisfurth, a consultant for Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, suggests the privatisation Uzbekistan’s cotton sector is seeing huge tracts of land being transferred to private operators for cotton cultivation, with farmers coerced into “voluntarily” giving up their land leases, with devastating effects on rural livelihoods.

Kazakhstan: Threat against fuel and energy workers union

Kazakh authorities continue to put pressure on independent trade unions. Below you can find a letter send by ITUC and IndustriAll global to the President of Republic of Kazakhstan Mr Tokayev and invitation to support Labourstart campaign.

Unprecedented crackdown on human rights organisations in Kazakhstan

Between 15 and 25 January 2021, the Kazakh tax authorities ordered a three month suspension on the operation and activities of three human rights organisations: Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and the Rule of Law, The International Legal Initiative Foundation and the public association Echo. The tax authorities also imposed fines on the three aforementioned organisations as well as another human rights organisation, Erkindik Kanaty, for alleged violations in reporting of foreign funds.

KEY FINDINGS FROM THE 2020 COTTON HARVEST

The 2020 cotton harvest was the shortest in ten years, lasting only between 40 and 60 days, depending on the region. Cotton picking began between September 10-20, and by October 20, five of Uzbekistan’s 13 regions—Fergana, Andijan, Khorezm, Karakalpakstan and Namangan— had already reported that they had fulfilled their regional targets.

Kazakhstan: Independent Union Under Threat of Suspension

The Kazakhstan authorities’ attempt to have an independent trade union’s operations suspended is a violation of workers’ fundamental rights to organize and associate, Human Rights Watch said today. On February 1, 2021, a Shymkent court is scheduled to resume consideration of the Shymkent City Administration’s lawsuit against the Industrial Trade Union of Fuel and Energy Workers (ITUFEW) claiming violations of Kazakhstan’s trade union law. “The improvements to the trade union law are nothing but lip service if Kazakh authorities are still trying to paralyze independent trade unions in practice,” Rittmann said. “The Shymkent City Administration should immediately withdraw its claim against ITUFEW, and the authorities should create an environment in which trade unions can work without fear.”

Rights Groups In Kazakhstan Hit With Fines, Face Pressure Amid Crackdown

The operations at two human rights organizations in Kazakhstan have been suspended and they may face closure amid a crackdown on rights groups in the Central Asian state. The head of the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule Of Law (KMBPCh), Yevgeny Zhovtis, told RFE/RL that tax officials in Almaty ruled on January 25 to suspend the group's activities for three months and ordered it to pay 2 million tenges ($4,700) in fines, citing "financial irregularities."

Kazakhstan: Another Sectoral Union Faces the Threat of Compulsory Dissolution

The Specialised Inter-District Economic Court of the City of Shymkent has received a claim seeking a court order to suspend the activities of the Sectoral Fuel and Energy Workers’ Union. The claim was filed by the Akimat (the municipal authorities) of Shymkent following a representation of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Uzbekistan: Registration Barriers for Independent Groups

Uzbek authorities are severely hindering the work of independent nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) with excessive and burdensome registration requirements, violating their right to freedom of association, Human Rights Watch said today. Uzbekistan has carried out some human rights reforms in recent years under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. But the government has refused to allow the registration of NGOs that seek to work on sensitive issues such as human rights and forced labor. The Uzbek government should amend its legislation and allow independent groups to register.

Kyrgyzstan: Increased Interference in Trade Union Activities

Kyrgyz authorities have increased their scrutiny of trade union members of the federation over the last year. In October 2019, parliament formed a commission tasked with the vague mandate of “studying the implementation of the trade union law” in Kyrgyzstan. Eldiyar Karachalov, chair of the trade union of construction workers, a union member of the federation, said that the commission asked trade union leaders to provide extensive information about their organizational, financial, and economic activities.