News

15 May 2020
The large-scale tasks associated with economic and social reforms in Uzbekistan urgently require a restructuring of the state policy in the field of employment, and in addressing this issue, we count on the technical and expert support of the ILO. This was discussed during a videoconference held on May 15 in Tashkent by tripartite participants of the ILO, who discussed the background and analytical report on the development of the National Employment Strategy.
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (ILO News). The trilateral exchange of views was attended by First Deputy Minister of Employment and Labor Relations Erkin Mukhitdinov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Makhmadaliyev, Executive Director of the Confederation of Employers of Uzbekistan Eka Margishvili, a representative group of ILO specialists and national experts.
The development of the National Employment Strategy is one of the current initiatives within the framework of the action plan aimed at deepening cooperation between Uzbekistan and the ILO. It was approved by the Prime Minister of the Republic following the negotiations held in December 2018 during the visit of the ILO Director General to Uzbekistan.

The objective of the first phase of work on the National Strategy was to increase the knowledge and capacity of tripartite constituents and specialists from the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Finance and the Presidential Administration in such areas as the development of an effective and inclusive national employment policy, and identify the main stages of development that should be carried out in the basis of a tripartite social dialogue, monitoring and analysis of the effectiveness of national policies in this area.
As participants of the videoconference noted, the development of a comprehensive employment strategy, taking into account all possible scenarios, is of particular importance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It took the coronavirus a few weeks to fundamentally change the situation in labor markets around the world. For the governments of all states, this has become an unambiguous signal: prompt and at the same time balanced decisions are needed to adjust the programs for promoting employment of the population, taking into account new circumstances.

“Today we need new approaches to the problems of the labor market, and in solving this strategic task, we count on the support of the ILO. Under the auspices of our ministry, a working group has been established to develop a National Employment Strategy. It included our social partners, national and international experts of the ILO, – said First Deputy Minister of Employment and Labor Relations Erkin Mukhitdinov. “We need to formulate well-thought-out and informed strategic objectives, the solution of which would ensure decent employment in the long term – for the next 5-10 years.”

“Today we need new approaches to the problems of the labor market, and in solving this strategic task, we count on the support of the ILO.”
Erkin Mukhitdinov, First Deputy Minister of Employment and Labor Relations of the Republic of Uzbekistan

Erkin Mukhitdinov spoke about specific actions taken by the ministry at the stage of preparing for the development of the strategy. This is, in particular, a functional assessment of public employment centers by ILO experts, a gradual increase in the efficiency of employment services, a revision of existing service instructions, and retraining of ministry employees. With the support of the ILO, training courses are organized for employees of public employment centers in all regions of the country. A solid basis for developing an employment strategy will be the ongoing analysis of macroeconomic policies and the situation on the labor market, employment promotion programs, employment policies at the national and sectoral levels.
According to international ILO experts Duncan Campbell and Per Ronnas, labor market institutions in Uzbekistan are developing in an environment of accelerated diversification, characterized by active state participation and the existence of a strong public sector coexisting with a growing market economy. The problem here is the lack of flexibility of the labor market and the fact that economic growth does not provide the necessary growth in the number of jobs. Effective labor market institutions have a critical role to play in ensuring social protection and stability for workers, as well as in creating a stable and predictable business environment and avoiding extremes of over- or under-regulation.
“This meeting is a milestone that completes an important stage in our joint work with the Ministry and the social partners, the purpose of which is to identify priority areas for an employment strategy based on a tripartite approach, ILO standards and experience,” said the Chief Employment Specialist of the ILO Moscow Office Mikhail Pushkin. “In the process of developing the strategy, the results of the activities of the ILO, its projects and initiatives in Uzbekistan will be taken into account.”
The next step in the development of a national employment strategy, according to Ramiro Pizarro of the ILO Moscow Office, will be the finalization of two strategic documents relating to employment policy. One of them is of an information and reference nature, the other outlines the 5 strategic objectives of the employment strategy discussed during the videoconference. Discussions are to be held in a tripartite format, as well as with relevant national agencies, to determine which policy recommendations best fit with the objectives of Uzbekistan’s national policy and the overall program of economic reforms in the country. There is also a need to work closely with the tripartite national strategy working group with sufficient authority to expedite its development.
In conclusion, it was noted that the ILO is ready to provide the government of Uzbekistan and social partners with all possible support in the development of a national employment strategy. The ongoing work is organized within the framework of the ILO project “Partnerships in the field of youth employment in the Commonwealth of Independent States”, implemented by the ILO Moscow Office with financial support from the Russian company PJSC LUKOIL.