Residents of Uzbekistan will be permitted to strike at work

9 сентября депутаты Законодательной палаты Олий Мажлиса приняли первый законопроект от Сената, который получил право вносить на рассмотрение законы по новой редакции Конституции.

The document proposes amendments and additions to the Labour Code and some legislative acts to strengthen citizens’ labour rights guarantees. It is based on Uzbekistan’s accession to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to organise, as well as Convention No. 98 on the Right to Organise and to Collective Bargaining.

Uzbeks will receive the legal right to strike – collective protests of workers with the suspension of work to achieve their demands. To this day, the issue has been in the gray zone, strikes have not been stipulated in the law, therefore such work stoppages are considered a violation of labor discipline and may lead to liability for employees and their organizers.

Now, a clear definition and concept of a strike, its procedures, and guarantees provided to participants in the strike are being enshrined in the Labour Code. The full text of the draft law is not yet available.

It won’t be possible to get completely carried away: restrictions related to the strike process will also be written in the code. ILO conventions do not protect illegal or “wild” strikes.

The draft law aims to fully align national legislation with international labor standards, and to strengthen the principles of social justice, equality, and democratic governance in practice.