Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Turkmenistan (Ratification: 1997)

Other comments on C105

Observation

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The Committee notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 1 September 2022. It requests the Government to provide its reply to these observations.

Article 1(b) of the Convention. Imposition of forced labour as a method of mobilizing and using labour for purposes of economic development. Cotton production. In its previous comments, the Committee noted with deep concern the continued practice of forced labour in the cotton sector. The Committee also noted that, in its 2021 conclusions on the application of the Convention by Turkmenistan, the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, urged the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to ensure that no one, including farmers, public and private sector workers and students, is forced to work for the state-sponsored cotton harvest. To effectively implement its conclusions, the Conference Committee called on the Government to accept a high-level mission of the ILO which would be granted all accommodations so as to carry out its duties, including during the harvest season.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication, in its report, that no allegation of the use of forced labour in the cotton sector has been reported to state bodies, judicial authorities, representative organizations of employers and workers, or the Ombudsman’s Office. The Government also indicates that the Ombudsman’s Office has made recommendations to the Prosecutor General, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education, and the heads of the provinces and Ashgabat to strengthen monitoring with a view to preventing forced and child labour, including in cotton harvesting and other agricultural works. In addition, measures are being taken to improve the procedure for concluding employment contracts between farmers and cotton pickers.

The Committee further notes that a high-level mission of the ILO was carried out in Turkmenistan in two phases in 2022: the first phase was undertaken virtually due to the COVID-19-related restrictions in February 2022. A preparatory ILO mission to Turkmenistan took place from 14 to 16 September 2022 to prepare for the second phase of the high-level mission. The objective of this preparatory visit was to (1) further ILO understanding of how the cotton harvest in Turkmenistan was organized from an institutional and practical point of view; (2) discuss the parameters for the second phase of the high-level mission; and (3) discuss the development of a possible development cooperation project. Consequently, the second phase of the high-level mission was undertaken from 14 to 18 November 2022. The main objective of the second phase was to reach agreement on the parameters of a development cooperation project and immediate activities for cooperation between the ILO and the Turkmen constituents.

The Committee notes that as an outcome of the high-level mission, an agreement was reached on a draft road map for cooperation between the ILO and the Government for 2023. In particular, the road map provides for the elaboration of activities in the following six areas: (1) a review of the policy and administrative framework governing the cotton harvest; (2) improvement of labour inspection and law enforcement; (3) promotion of full, productive and freely chosen employment in the cotton sector; (4) improvement of cotton production and harvesting; (5) design and implementation of awareness-raising activities; and (6) promotion of social dialogue in cotton production. In addition, the road map includes activities on the improvement of the legislative framework for the prevention and prohibition of forced labour; the undertaking of a situation analysis on recruitment for cotton picking; improvement of the regulation of seasonal work in agriculture and contractual arrangements; improvement of labour inspection to strengthen oversight; the undertaking of field visits during the 2023 cotton harvest; as well as further enhancement of dialogue between the ILO and the Government. The Committee also notes that the high-level mission undertook visits to Mary and Lebap provinces, during which it met with the regional authorities and visited the cotton fields.

The Committee further notes that the ITUC, in its 2022 observations, reiterates once again the continued recourse to the use by the State of forced labour in picking cotton. According to the ITUC, during the 2021 cotton harvest, mobilized persons were forced to work excessively long hours in poor sanitary conditions without access to medical care and compensation for their work. As in the previous years, in order not to participate in cotton harvesting, persons had to pay the amounts representing a substantial part of their income for replacement pickers. The ITUC also points out that the most vulnerable persons to forced labour in the cotton harvest are public sector workers who constitute the main workforce to pick cotton, internal migrant workers, persons receiving treatment for addiction, persons accused of prostitution or alimony delinquency, as well as students at State educational institutions.

While taking due note of the Government’s collaboration with the ILO to address the issue of forced labour in cotton harvesting, the Committee once again notes with concern the reports of the continued practice of forced labour in the cotton sector. The Committee strongly urges the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure the complete elimination of the use of compulsory labour of public and private sector workers, as well as students, in cotton production. In this regard, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue to engage in cooperation with the ILO and the social partners to ensure the full application of the Convention in practice, including within the framework of the road map for cooperation between the ILO and the Government. It requests the Government to provide information on concrete measures taken in this respect, including on: (1) a review of the policy and administrative framework governing the cotton harvest; (2) improvement of labour inspection and law enforcement; (3) promotion of full, productive and freely chosen employment in the cotton sector; (4) improvement of cotton production and harvesting; (5) design and implementation of awareness-raising activities; and (6) promotion of social dialogue in the cotton production.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.