Uzbekistan

LABOUR RIGHTS INDEX 2022

Trade Union Indicator

The Labour Rights Index 2022 (LRI 2022) is a de-jure index covering 135 economies and structured around the working lifespan of a worker. In total, 46 questions or evaluation criteria are scored across 10 indicators. The overall score is calculated by taking the average of each indicator, with 100 being the highest possible score. The Index uses a rating system, ranging from “Total Lack of Decent Work” to “Decent Work”. The Labour Rights Index aims at an active contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, by providing necessary (complementary) insights into de jure provisions on issues covered in particular by SDG8 (Decent Jobs), SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) and SDG 16 (Strong Institutions). The Index is based on national labour legislation, applicable on 1 January 2022. The Index does not take into account COVID-19 related labour market measures in its scoring.

Uzbekistan’s overall score is 73.5 out of 100. The overall score for Uzbekistan is lower than the regional average observed across Caucasus and Central Asia (79.5). Within the Caucasus and Central Asia, the highest score is observed for Azerbaijan.

Uzbekistan received the worst possible score by default due to reported general prohibition of the right to establish and join organizations and/or collective bargaining in practice (violations no. 36 and/or 73 in the table below).

Labour Rights Index 2022

73.5/100

LRI Country Score

0/100

Trade Union Indicator

- %

Trade union density rate (%)

- %

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)

-

SDG indicator 8.8.2

-

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings

Question

Answer

Score

Legal Basis

Violation

Does the law allow workers to form and join unions of their own choice?

No

0 CEACR, C87, Obs. 2020

Does the law allow workers to bargain collectively with employers through their representative unions?

No

0 CEACR, C98, Obs. 2018

Does the law provide for the right to strike?

No

0 USDOS CRHRP 2021

Does the law prohibit employers from terminating employment contracts of striking workers?

No

0 USDOS CRHRP 2021

Textual sources

A : National Law

National Labour Legislation

B : CEACR

CEACR: ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (latest report)

C : ITUC

ITUC: ITUC Global Rights Index 2022

D : USDOS

USDOS: US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021

LRI Country Score
The Labour Rights Index has 10 indicators and 46 sub-indicators. The LRI Country score averages 10 indicators and ranges between 0 and 100. The lowest and highest scorers are Nigeria (29/100) and Belgium/Greece (96/100). https://labourrightsindex.org/

Trade Union Indicator
The trade union indicator is composed of 4 sub-indicators. Scoring is done through the binary method (0 or 1). The score ranges between 0-100.

Trade union density rate (%)
The trade union density rate conveys the number of union members who are employees as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on trade union density, please check ILOSTAT.

Collective bargaining coverage rate (%)
The collective bargaining coverage rate conveys the number of employees whose pay and/or conditions of employment are determined by one or more collective agreement(s) as a percentage of the total number of employees in the country. For updated statistics on collective bargaining coverage, please check ILOSTAT.

SDG indicator 8.8.2
SDG indicator 8.8.2 measures national compliance with fundamental labour rights (freedom of association and collective bargaining or FACB). It ranges from 0 to 10, with 0 being the best possible score (indicating higher levels of compliance with FACB rights) and 10 the worst (indicating lower levels of compliance with FACB rights). It is based on six ILO supervisory body textual sources and national legislation.
For an updated assessment on SDG indicator 8.8.2, please check ILOSTAT.

ITUC Global Rights Index 2022 Ratings
The ITUC Global Rights Index depicts the world’s worst countries for workers by rating 148 countries on a scale from 1 to 5+ on the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Violations are recorded each year from April to March. For a detailed description of ratings and methodology, please follow the link.

To find an ITUC affiliate in your country, please check the LINK:

Violations

ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)

CEACR, C87, Obs. 2020

Distinction based on nationality. The Committee notes that, while section 11 of the Labour Code appears to extend freedom of association rights to foreigners, under the LTU only “citizens” are granted the right to freedom of association (section 4), as well as the right to voluntarily establish trade unions to protect their legitimate interests, to join and to carry out trade union activity (section 7).

Violations

ILO Committee of Experts on Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR)

CEACR, C98, Obs. 2018

The Committee recalls that for a number of years it has been requesting the Government to take the necessary measures to amend sections 21(1), 23(1), 31, 35, 36, 48, 49 and 59 of the Labour Code so as to ensure that the legislation makes it clear that, only in the absence of trade unions at the enterprise, the branch or the territory, can the authorization to bargain collectively be conferred on other representatives elected by workers. The Committee notes that the FPU is of the view that the above provisions are in conformity with the Workers’ Representatives Convention, 1971 (No. 135), and therefore there is no need to amend the Labour Code in this respect. The Committee once again recalls that direct negotiation between the undertaking and workers’ representatives, bypassing sufficiently representative workers’ organizations, where these exist, can be detrimental to the principle that negotiation between employers and representative organizations of workers should be encouraged and promoted.

Violations

US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021 (USDOS)

USDOS CRHRP 2021

The law neither provides for nor prohibits the right to strike, but it prohibits antiunion discrimination.

Violations

US Department of States' Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2021 (USDOS)

USDOS CRHRP 2021

The law on trade unions states that workers may not be fired due to trade union membership, but it does not clearly state whether workers fired for union activity must be reinstated.