Key findings of the report on social protection in case of job loss discussed in Tashkent

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (ILO News) – Representatives of the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Federation of Trade Unions, the Confederation of Employers of Uzbekistan and experts from fellow UN agencies took part in the webinar.

In his opening statement, Mr Bakhodir Umurzakov, Deputy Minister of the Employment and Labour Relations, highlighted the positive collaboration between the ministry and the ILO in the field of unemployment protection. Particularly, he mentioned the importance of functional analysis and the ILO recommendations on reforming centres of employment, as well as ILO’s updated methodology of assessing the level of unemployment that helps to have a clearer picture of the labour market.

Mr Nodir Muslitdinov, former Head of the Social Protection Department at the Ministry of Finance and Deputy Minister of Preschool Education, described the progress in drafting the National Social Protection Strategy in thematic working groups. Dialogue across the ministries and participation of workers’ organisations helped to have a holistic approach to the development of the social protection system and to reconcile the National Strategy with the Employment Strategy and the Strategy on Poverty Reduction until 2030, he said.

Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions Mr Bakhtiyor Mamadaliyev spoke about trade unions’ proposals to the draft National Social Protection Strategy, including the development of mechanisms of state support in case of unemployment and the proposal to develop a law on social insurance that would reflect principles of ILO’s Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) and Maternity Protection Convention, 2000 (No. 183). The federation supports the idea to extend social insurance to workers in the informal sector, as well as the creation of an independent non-governmental institution on social inspection for effective monitoring and realisation of labour laws.

Ms Eka Margishvili, Executive Director of the Confederation of Employers of Uzbekistan, focused on the risks of unemployment in the current situation and highlighted the responsibility of employers in maintaining jobs. She also stressed the importance of compliance with mechanisms of termination of employment in line with ILO Recommendation, 1963 (No 119), and provision of monthly average salary during the job search up to 2 months after the termination of employment according to the Law on Employment.

Ms Celine Peyron Bista, Chief Technical Advisor (ILO), shared the ILO’s perspective on protection against unemployment. She referred to Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No. 102) and Employment Promotion and Protection against Unemployment Convention, 1988 (No. 168) as the main instruments in this regard.

Ms Janna Fattakhova, ILO National Expert, presented findings of the analysis of the current unemployment protection system in the informal sector. Currently, 8.8% of formally employed workers in Uzbekistan are protected against unemployment whereas 0% of workers in the informal sector are covered with social protection in similar situations. The main problem in the system of unemployment protection both in the formal and informal sectors is the coverage. Therefore, the main recommendations include:

1. Strengthening the system of mandatory social insurance of formal workers;
2. Establishment of mandatory social insurance system for informal workers;
3. Inclusion of informal workers who have the financial capacity to contribute to the system into the system of mandatory social insurance;
4. Extension of the social protection coverage to informal workers who do NOT have the financial capacity to contribute to the system into the system of mandatory social insurance.

After the presentations, the participants discussed the reforms in taxation and their impact on companies’ capacity to contribute to the social insurance system. They looked at the unemployment issue from the gender, migrant and youth employment perspective. These problems have become especially acute amid structural shocks, like the present pandemic.

Ms Adiba Nuriddinova, Head of the Social Protection Department at the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, closing the event thanked the ILO team for the insightful report and expressed her confidence that analysis and recommendations outlined in the report will be reflected in the new law on social insurance and the National Strategy for Social Protection.