Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2009, publiée 99ème session CIT (2010)

Article 1(b) of the Convention. Mobilization and use of labour for purposes of economic development in agriculture (cotton production). In its earlier comments, the Committee referred to the observations made by the Council of the Trade Unions Federation of Uzbekistan, communicated by the Government with its 2004 report, which contained allegations concerning practices of a mobilization and use of labour for purposes of economic development in agriculture (cotton production), in which public sector workers, schoolchildren and university students were involved. It also noted a communication dated 17 October 2008, received from the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), which alleged that, despite the existence of the legal framework against the use of forced labour, there were continued non-governmental organizations and media reports denunciating the systematic and persistent use of forced labour, including forced child labour, in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan. The Committee notes the Government’s response to the above communication by the IOE, received in January 2009. It further notes a new communication from the IOE dated 26 August 2009, as well as a communication from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) dated 31 August 2009, both of them concerning the above subject, which were sent to the Government in August and September 2009 for any comments it might wish to make on the matters raised therein. Finally, the Committee notes the comments made by the Council of the Trade Unions Federation of Uzbekistan on the application of the Convention, in a communication dated 10 August 2009.

In the 2009 communication referred to above, the IOE reiterated its previous comments submitted in 2008 and stated that there were continued non-governmental organizations and media reports denunciating the systematic and persistent use of forced labour, including forced child labour, in the cotton fields of Uzbekistan. The above communication by the ITUC contains similar allegations, according to which the Government systematically mobilizes both school-age children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest for purposes of economic development; it further alleges that, in addition to forcible nature of the work, persons concerned are working in extremely exploitative and harmful conditions. The ITUC refers in this connection to the report of the fact-finding mission to Central Asia undertaken by the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF), in which the IUF reported that, during cotton harvesting, teachers and children are mobilized in many rural areas to help with the harvest that interrupts the study for several weeks. Both the IOE and the ITUC refer in their respective communications to the 2005 reports of the two non-governmental organizations: Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) and the International Labour Rights Forum (ILRF), which contained allegations that every year hundreds of thousands of Uzbek schoolchildren are forced to work in the national cotton harvest for up to three months. The IOE further refers to the 2006 concluding observations of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child concerning Uzbekistan (CRC/C/UZB/CO/2, 2 June 2006, 42nd Session), in which the UN Committee expressed its deep concern at the information about the involvement of the very many school-age children in the harvesting of cotton resulting in serious health problems and recommended to the Government to take all measures to comply with international child labour standards and establish mechanisms to monitor the situation. The IOE also refers to the concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights concerning Uzbekistan (E/C.12/UZB/CO/1, 24 January 2006, 35th Session), in which that Committee expressed concern about the persistent reports of the situation of school-age children who are obliged to participate in the cotton harvest every year and, for that reason, do not attend school during this period.

According to the allegations made by the IOE and the ITUC, adult persons are also subject to forced labour during the cotton harvest. The ITUC alleges, in particular, that local administration employees, teachers, factory workers and doctors are commonly forced to leave their jobs for weeks at a time and pick cotton with no additional compensation; in some instances refusal to cooperate can lead to dismissal from work; even elderly people and mothers of young babies have been reportedly ordered by local government officials to pick cotton or lose their pensions or child benefits. The ITUC concludes that, even if forced labour in the cotton field were not the result of the state policy, the Government still violates the Convention by failing to ensure its effective observance, since it systematically requires persons to work in the cotton fields against their will, under the threat of a penalty and in extremely perilous conditions for the purposes of economic development. The IOE states that, while the adoption in September 2008 of a decree prohibiting child labour in cotton plantations, as well as the approval of a National Action Plan to eradicate forced child labour, could be considered as positive steps, it still remains uncertain if the implementation of these measures will be sufficient to address these deeply rooted practices.

The Committee notes that, in its reply to the 2008 communication by the IOE, the Government denied the allegations about coercion of large numbers of people to participate in agricultural works and reiterated that under no circumstances may employers use compulsory labour for the production or harvesting of agricultural products in Uzbekistan, the exaction of forced labour being punishable with the penal and administrative sanctions and employers being liable for violation of labour legislation in respect of persons under the age of 18. The Government also states that practically all the country’s cotton is produced by small undertakings that have no economic interest in employing additional labour, and the well-developed education system prevents the exaction of forced labour from children. The Government further states that state policy on the protection of children is implemented within the framework of the development goals set out in the Millennium Declaration, international obligations arising from ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the adoption of the National Plan of Action to Protect the Rights and Interests of Children. It indicates that, following the ratification by Uzbekistan of the ILO Conventions Nos 138 and 182, the Government has approved the National Plan of Action to implement the above Conventions, and a system of public monitoring ensuring that immediate action is taken to put an end to any violation of children’s rights has been set up. The Government refers in this connection to the System for the Protection of the Family, Mothers and Children, headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, and to the Commission on the Affairs of Minors, headed by the Prosecutor General, as well as to the state legal inspectorates and safety and health inspectorates set up in every region of the country under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. The national labour legislation sets the minimum age for admission to employment at 16 years, and a list of occupations involving arduous working conditions in which employment of persons under 18 years old is prohibited was adopted in 2001. The Government reiterates that children’s welfare is one of the top national priorities and refers in this connection to a large-scale social protection system and various state social programmes, as well as educational reform, which includes 12 years of compulsory schooling for all children.

While noting the Government’s indications concerning the positive steps that have been taken to protect the children’s rights and to prohibit child labour in occupations involving arduous working conditions, including the adoption in September 2008 of a decree prohibiting the use of child labour in cotton plantations, the Committee observes, however, that there is a convergence of views of the United Nations bodies, the representative organizations of employers and workers, as well as non-governmental organizations concerning the large‑scale use of child labour, including compulsory labour, in cotton production in Uzbekistan.

The Committee hopes that the Government will respond in detail to the latest observations of the employers’ and workers’ organizations referred to above and provide, in its next report, information on measures taken, both in law and in practice, in order to suppress and not to make use of compulsory labour, including both compulsory child labour and compulsory labour of adult persons, in the cotton production. The Committee requests the Government, in particular, to provide information on the application in practice of a decree prohibiting the use of child labour in cotton plantations, adopted in September 2008, as well as information on other measures, legislative or otherwise, that have been taken or envisaged to ensure the observance of the Convention, which expressly prohibits the use of forced or compulsory labour for purposes of economic development.

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