Forced and child labour
Major progress on forced labour and child labour in Uzbekistan cotton fields
International Labour Organization monitors say that forced labour during the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan has been significantly reduced. As in previous years child labour is no longer a concern.
Ninety-three per cent of those involved in the 2018 cotton harvest worked voluntarily, The systematic recruitment of students, teachers, doctors and nurses has ended.
However, according to the monitors, the recruitment of staff from state institutions, agencies and enterprises still occurs in some places.
Child labour, which was previously a serious problem during harvest time, is no longer a major concern.
“In many ways, the 2018 cotton harvest was a real test for Uzbekistan," said Beate Andrees, Chief of the ILO’s Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch. “A year ago at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Mirziyoyev committed his government to working with the ILO and the World Bank to eradicate child and forced labour in the harvest. This political commitment was followed by a number of structural changes and reforms in recruitment practices. The ILO monitors have observed that these measures are working and people on the ground can feel a real difference.”
The cotton harvest in Uzbekistan is the world’s largest recruitment operation, with some 2.6 million people temporarily picking cotton every year. The land allocated for cotton growing has been reduced but the crop still provides an important source of income, especially for women in rural areas.
Third-Party Monitoring
The ILO has been monitoring the cotton harvest for child labour since 2013, through an agreement with the Uzbek government, employers and trade unions. In 2015, as part of an agreement with the World Bank, it began monitoring the use of forced and child labour during the harvest.ILO experts carried out 11,000 unaccompanied and unannounced interviews with cotton pickers and others involved in the harvest in all provinces of the country, to create a picture of the situation on the ground.
This year human rights activists were involved in a number of field interviews, awareness raising activities and reviews of cases gathered through a government hotline set up to hear complaints and questions.
No government representatives were involved in the monitoring. Moreover, to ensure the highest possible level of integrity, GPS coordinates were generated randomly and only given to the international ILO experts just before their departure to the next destination.
While the overwhelming majority of cotton pickers worked voluntarily in 2018, some pickers from state institutions, enterprises and agencies reported that they would have preferred not to have participated in the harvest but did not want trouble from their employer. Others in this category reported that they picked cotton voluntarily because of improved rates and bonuses.
Government reforms
As part of a number of reforms, the Uzbek government increased wages and introduced a differentiated pay scale so that pickers are paid more per kilogramme of cotton towards the end of the harvest, when conditions are less favorable and there is less cotton to pick. The wage structure was further refined in 2018 to encourage mobility by rewarding those who were willing to pick in less densely populated districts with lower yields.
Uzbekistan has begun processing raw cotton and is positioning itself as a manufacturer of textiles and garments.
“These are positive developments” said Beate Andrees, “Establishing full-time, decent jobs in manufacturing would certainly be helpful to reduce the seasonal peaks in labour demand which often fuel unfair recruitment practices.”
“We have seen in many places that international garment companies can play a key role in promoting good labour standards by insisting on high standards and by implementing international best practices. There is no reason why this should not take place in Uzbekistan as well.”
“There is still work to do but Uzbekistan has demonstrated that it deserves full support from the international community, including governments, investors, the garment and textile industry, and civil society in realizing the next phase of its ambitious reform agenda. The ILO stands ready to facilitate this process.”
The ILO has been implementing a comprehensive Decent Work Country Programme with Uzbekistan since 2014. As well as the cotton industry, it deals with employment and recruitment policies, labour inspection and administration, labour law, occupational safety and health, social dialogue and strengthening trade unions and employers’ organizations.
The ILO TPM Project is funded by a multi-donor trust fund with major contributions from the European Union, Switzerland and the United States.