In recent days, the workers of Enter Engineering (EE), a major government contractor in Uzbekistan, have demonstrated continuously. The fact that the company has delayed the salaries of more than 50,000 workers in its more than 10 enterprises for 4 months is the cause of workers’ dissatisfaction.
About 12,000 Kazakhs, Indians, Turks and Russians are among the workers who rebelled. The Enter Engineering company, which cannot pay its workers despite various adverse weather conditions, is one of the two largest contractors that have received construction, repair, renovation or modernization projects from the state in more than 200 large and small objects across Uzbekistan.
According to one worker, no one is giving them a clear answer about their salary. Only if someone raises a protest, the company is giving salaries to those workers.
In the past few months, there have been reports of increased pressure on workers who contacted RFE/RL to talk about their problems. The main pressure is said to be the threat of dismissal.
According to experts of Enter Engineering, who did not want to reveal their names, more than 52 thousand workers work in more than 200 facilities of the company in Tashkent, Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya, Bukhara, Navoi, Andijan and Fergana regions. About 12 thousand of them came from Kazakhstan, India, Turkey, Russia and other countries. They are owners of more than 20 professions related to the construction industry. Monthly salary from 2 million to 2 million soums.
The workers are also dissatisfied with the huge disparity in the payment of wages, along with the delay in their monthly salaries. But there is no other choice.
Another one is Eriell company, which shared or partnered with Enter Engineering on some projects. Neither these two companies nor their owner Bakhtiyor Fazilov does not explain why tens of thousands of workers are delayed for 4 months.
Source: Ozodlik.org
