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Harassment, Bullying, and Violence against Women in Uzbekistan.

NewsBy news@labourmission.org2021-03-24

The issues of harassment, bullying, and violence against women in Uzbekistan are being covered with greater frequency in the national mass media. Lately, events involving a Polish lady reporter who was going through the process of extending her accreditation and faced harassment became a subject of a broad discussion. And while the accreditation issue was eventually dealt with in a most expeditious manner, the allegations of harassment were never investigated and the perpetrator was never brought to justice.

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Employees of Indorama Agro LLC established an independent union – March 19, 2021

NewsBy news@labourmission.org2021-03-23

On March 19, 2021, over 200 employees of Indorama Agro LLC gathered in Sardoba in Syrdarya region to hold a founding meeting to establish an independent trade union. The employees were forced to hold the meeting outside as they were refused entry to a previously agreed conference room 20 minutes prior to the start of the meeting because of “urgent” repairs. It was agreed that employees could use another room, but the electricity was then unexpectedly cut off for reasons unknown.

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The Kazakh Authorities Continue Their Crack-Down on Independent Unions

NewsBy news@labourmission.org2021-03-23

The persecution of independent trade unions continues in the Republic of Kazakhstan. On February 5, 2021, by decision of Judge Kasharbekova A.U. of the Specialised Inter-District Economic Court of the City of Shymkent, the activities of the Sectoral Union of Fuel and Energy Workers were suspended for a period of six months. The Court decision has been appealed, yet high-ranking State officials speak of its coming into force even before the appeal was examined. This is the position explicitly expressed in a letter to the workers of Oil Construction Company, Ltd. dated February 10, 2021, signed by Akmadi Sorbasov, First Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

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WILL INDORAMA AGRO STAND IN THE WAY OF UZBEKISTAN’S FIRST INDEPENDENT TRADE UNION?

NewsBy news@labourmission.org2021-03-17

Indorama issues its agricultural workers, who work all year round, with “civil legal agreements”, as opposed to employment contracts. They are thus considered seasonal and not permanent workers which means that they have no entitlement to social protections such as sick pay, social benefits or holiday pay.

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Convention 190 and Recommendation 206,

VideoBy news@labourmission.org2021-03-11

#RATIFYC190​ FOR A WORLD OF WORK FREE FROM VIOLENCE AND HARASSMENT (ENG)

PUBLIC CALL FROM BIR BUINO KYRGYZSTAN TO MARIPOV U.A., PRIME-MINISTER OF THE KR

NewsBy news@labourmission.org2021-03-05

We have carefully reviewed the 100-day Plan of the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. We welcome the new steps to improve social and economic situation of the country. We hope that you will take into consideration the recommendations that concern vulnerable groups of citizens who have been waiting for years, since the revolutions, decision-making process one the part of new authorities, with equal participation of activists from the communities to the national levels. We kindly request you to focus attention on labor inequality and importance of partnership of government and business with independent trade unions to protect the rights of workers, living in the Kyrgyz Republic and abroad. It is important to urgently abolish the list of prohibited professions for women.

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Kazakhstan: New large oil field discovered in Caspian region

NewsBy news@labourmission.org2021-02-26

Meridian Petroleum president Baltabek Kuandykov described the discovery of the field as “a truly historic event for our country.” Mangystau governor Serikbai Trumov said the field would “give a powerful impetus to the social and economic development of the region and create new jobs.”

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Kazakhstan: Workers increasingly resorting to strikes, and succeeding

NewsBy news@labourmission.org2021-02-24

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.

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

NewsBy news@labourmission.org2021-02-20

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.

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Women in business and management 2019

VideoBy news@labourmission.org2021-02-19

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