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Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Uzbekistan (RATIFICATION: 1992)

Article 1(1)(a) of the Convention. Legislation. The Committee notes that the Government refers to section 6 of the Labour Code which prohibits, in the field of employment relationships, direct discrimination (any restrictions or privileges) based on sex, age, race, nationality, language, social origin, wealth, employment status, religion, beliefs, membership of public associations, and any other circumstances not related to the qualifications of the worker or the results of his/her work. While noting that section 6 refers to “any other circumstances”, the Committee once again requests the Government to consider including in section 6 of the Labour Code an explicit reference to the grounds of political opinion and colour, as well as a prohibition of indirect discrimination. Until such amendments can be made, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to ensure that workers are protected in practice against discrimination based on political opinion or colour in all aspects of employment and occupation. Please also provide information on the practical application of section 6 of the Labour Code, including copies of relevant administrative or judicial decisions.

Sexual harassment. The Committee notes that the Government once again has provided no information in response to its request for information on awareness-raising and amending the relevant legislation to prohibit sexual harassment. The Committee recalls from its General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 789, that sexual harassment is a serious manifestation of sex discrimination and a violation of human rights, and is to be addressed within the context of the Convention. Given the gravity and serious repercussions of sexual harassment, the Committee recalls the importance of taking effective measures to prevent and prohibit sexual harassment at work. Such measures should address both quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate any practical measures taken to raise awareness and address the issue of sexual harassment in employment and occupation and any related collaboration with the workers’ and employers’ organizations. The Committee reiterates its hope that the Government will take measures to include provisions to define and prohibit both quid pro quo and hostile environment sexual harassment in legislation.

Gender equality in employment and occupation. The Committee notes from the Uzbekistan Gender Statistics available on the Government website, the persistence of horizontal and vertical segregation in employment and occupation; in 2012, women made up 45.4 per cent of the labour force of which approximately one third were concentrated in education, culture, art, science and scientific services (68.4 per cent women) and health care, sports and social security (76.2 per cent women), while men were 90.8 per cent of workers in the construction sector and 87.8 in the transport and communication sector. The Committee notes from the report of the Asian Development Bank, Uzbekistan Country Gender Assessment 2014, that in all sectors, men occupy on average 73 per cent of management positions, and even in sectors where women are well represented, women account for only about one third of managers. In the private sector, women comprise 12 per cent of managers in small enterprises, 9 per cent in medium-sized enterprises, and 5.5 per cent in large enterprises (paragraph 58). The Committee also notes from the Government’s Fifth Periodic Report to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), that girls and women remain under-represented in academic lyceums (40.5 per cent women), vocational training (49.1 per cent women), and institutes of higher learning (38.5 per cent women), and that choice of specialties in learning institutions differ between men and women, with women studying in sectors such as education (72.6 per cent) and men in sectors such as industry and construction (93.3 per cent). The Report also indicated that the Government is currently improving a draft law on “guarantees of equal rights and equal opportunities for women and men” aimed at preventing discrimination against women (CEDAW/C/UZB/5, 13 April 2014, paragraphs 31 and 189–193). The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken to promote women’s access to a wider range of jobs including occupations with career opportunities, and to encourage their participation in a wide range of vocational and technical training and fields of study, and information on the impact of these measures on gender segregation in the labour market. Please also provide statistical information on the distribution of men and women respectively in the different economic sectors and occupations, as well as in vocational and technical training, and a copy of the law on guarantees of equal rights and equal opportunities for women and men once adopted.

Workers with family responsibilities. For a number of years the Committee has been noting that Chapter IV of the Labour Code, “additional guarantees and benefits for specific categories of workers”, contains certain measures applying to persons with family responsibilities which are generally only available to women workers (sections 228(1), 228, 229, 232). Fathers can benefit from these measures only in certain cases, such as death or long-term hospitalization of the mother (section 238). In this respect, the Committee refers to paragraph 786 of its General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, in which it emphasizes that when legislation reflects the assumption that the main responsibility for family care lies with women or excludes men from certain rights and benefits, it reinforces and prolongs stereotypes regarding the roles of women and men in the family and in society. The Committee considers that, in order to achieve the objective of the Convention, measures to assist workers with family responsibilities should be available to men and women on an equal footing. The Committee notes Law No. 355 of 7 October 2013 to Amend and Supplement, as well as to repeal Several Legal Acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan, which amends section 68 of the Labour Code to provide additional guarantees to single parents with children under the age of 14 and children with disabilities, including job creation, special training programmes, an employer’s obligation to accept employment agency referrals, and employment quotas. The Committee once again requests the Government to indicate the steps taken, in consultation with employers’ and workers’ organizations, to amend the relevant parts of Chapter IV of the Labour Code in the light of the principle of equality of opportunity and treatment of men and women, and to ensure that measures aimed at reconciling work and family are available to men and women with family responsibilities on an equal footing and to provide specific information in this regard.

Persons with disabilities. The Committee notes that Law No. 355 of 2013 amends section 68 of the Labour Code, to provide additional guarantees to persons with disabilities including job creation, special training programmes, the employer’s obligation to accept employment agency referrals and employment quotas. The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on measures adopted or envisaged under section 68 of the Labour Code including participation rates in training programmes and subsequent employment, and employment quotas for persons with disabilities. Please also provide a copy of the Social Protection of Disabled Persons Act and its amending Acts.

National and ethnic minorities. The Committee notes the concern of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) in its concluding observations, that Roma fare below the national average in educational achievement, are concentrated in low-paying employment. According to CERD, a large majority of Roma are recipients of public welfare benefits. CERD also expresses concern at the under-representation of members of ethnic minorities in the judiciary and public administration (CERD/C/UZB/CO/8-9, 14 March 2014, paragraphs 11 and 14). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to address the situation of the members of the Luli/Roma community and to promote their equal opportunity and treatment in employment and occupation. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the actual situation of national and ethnic minority groups in the country with respect to access to employment and particular occupations, and to provide relevant data, disaggregated by ethnic origin and sex, in this respect.

Article 3(a). Cooperation with employers’ and workers’ organizations. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that paragraph 39 of the 2014–16 General Agreement on Social and Economic Affairs between the Cabinet Ministers, the Council of the Federation of Trade Unions and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed in December 2013 states that it is necessary to adhere to the Convention when complying with guarantees and benefits offered under national law. The Government further indicates that each year the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the Council of the Federation of Trade Unions approve and implement a joint initiatives plan comprised of five sections including payment for work and the setting of norms, legal protection, employment and the labour market, and legal knowledge and public awareness campaigns. The Committee requests the Government to provide a copy of the 2014–16 General Agreement and specific information on any aspects of the most current joint initiatives plan which relate to equal opportunities and non-discrimination in employment and occupation.

Article 5. Special measures of protection on the basis of sex. For a number of years, the Committee has been requesting the Government to provide a copy of the list of jobs with harmful working conditions prohibited for women referred to in section 225 of the Labour Code. Noting that once again this list has not been provided, the Committee urges the Government to do so with its next report.

Enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Cabinet of Ministers’ Resolution No. 29 of 19 February 2010 specifies that the state labour inspectorate is subordinate to the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, and one of its main goals is to prevent discrimination in industrial relations. The Government further indicates that in 2013 and the first half of 2014 the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection received no complaints of racial discrimination. The Committee recalls that where no cases or complaints, or very few, are being lodged, this is likely to indicate a lack of an appropriate legal framework, lack of awareness of rights, lack of confidence in or absence of practical access to procedures, or fear of reprisals (see General Survey, 2012, paragraphs 790 and 870). The Committee notes from the Government’s Fifth Periodic Report to CEDAW that between 2010 and 2013, the civil courts examined 110 claims involving discrimination against women of which 83 were satisfied (CEDAW/C/UZB/5, paragraph 78). The Committee requests the Government to provide specific information on action taken to raise awareness of the relevant legislation, to enhance the capacity of the competent authorities, including judges, labour inspectors and other public officials, to identify and address cases of discrimination, and also to examine whether the applicable substantive and procedural provisions, in practice, allow claims to be brought successfully. Please also provide information on the number and nature of cases concerning discrimination addressed by the courts and the labour inspectorate.