Of late, mass media report news about the negotiations between the Minister of Labor of the Republic of Uzbekistan A. Abduhakimov and foreign partners, including President of the Organization of International Relations of Japan Noriaka Suga, representatives of the World Bank Robert Wrobel and Sanjay Agarwal, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea Kwon Yong-woo and others.
According to the minister, the peoples of Uzbekistan, Japan and Korea have much in common. Given this similarity in the mentality, cultural and moral values, as well as the desire to expand their skills and experience, it is quite logical for the parties to develop cooperation in matters of employment, technical training, labor migration and the creation of favorable and safe working conditions.
The progress of international cooperation within the framework of the Ministry of Labor has been expounded on by the head of sector for interacting with the ILO and international ties Iskandar Abdurahimov.
– Your ministry is involved in the implementation of the fourth direction of the Strategy of Actions, one of the points of which is to boost real incomes of the population. At a recent meeting with ILO officials, you discussed the legal framework for labor remuneration in Uzbekistan. How much do they correspond to world trends?
– On March 28-29 this year, within the framework of the implementation of the Decent Work Country Program for the Republic of Uzbekistan, a meeting with representatives of the International Labor Organization took place, during which we discussed issues of the current state and trends of decent salaries at the global level, existing wage inequalities, and also the legal framework for labor remuneration in the country, measures taken to improve labor remuneration, as defined in the Strategy of Actions along the five priority development directions of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017-2021 years.
Implemented in cooperation with ILO and the World Bank, the effective feedback mechanism secures growth in public awareness of the measures taken in the country to enforce labor rights and guarantees established by law.
– April in your work was full of meetings with foreign colleagues. You held talks with representatives of Russia, Japan, Korea and others. Did you talk about external labor migration?
– In April 2017, the Minister of Labor of the Republic of Uzbekistan A.Abduhakimov held meetings with officials of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Korea and Japan, in which the parties discussed issues of temporary labor activity of citizens of Uzbekistan.
If we talk about the Russian delegation, at the meeting we discussed the further implementation of the Agreement between the governments of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Russian Federation on organized recruitment and participation of Uzbek citizens in temporary work in the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as the Agreement between the Russian Federation and Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan on mutual establishment of offices of the competent authorities in the field of migration, signed during the state visit of President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoev to the Russian Federation on 4-5 April 2017.
During the meeting, special attention was paid to issues related to the simplification of procedures for obtaining a work permit (patent) in the Russian Federation by Uzbeks through special testing in the territory of our country. Issues related to the definition of partner educational institutions in Uzbekistan on conducting tests for obtaining a patent for work were discussed. In addition, the Uzbek side raised the issue of starting negotiations between the ministries of health of the two countries on developing a separate intergovernmental agreement to conduct medical examination of Uzbek labor migrants before leaving for work in Russia.
During the meeting with the Japanese side, a draft of a new intergovernmental agreement between Uzbekistan and Japan on sending technical trainees to Japan was discussed, in accordance with the requirements of the new law on the appropriate implementation of the technical internship program for foreign citizens and on protecting foreign technical trainees in Japan, which will enter into force on November 1, 2017.
At the meeting with the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Kwon Yong-woo, we discussed mechanisms and methods of selection of citizens of Uzbekistan for employment in the Republic of Korea, developed by the Ministry of Labor, determination of the competences of the parties in this area, measures aimed at making the process impartial, fair and transparent, reduction of the process of issuing a work permit, as well as the opening of the Agency’s representation on external labor migration in the Republic of Korea.
It was noted that the mechanisms and methods of recruiting migrants, based on regional quotas and with the participation of the public, will make this process fair and transparent.
A.Abduhakimov also acquainted the guests with the development of normative and legal acts regulating labor migration issues and measures implemented through the organized recruitment and attraction of citizens for temporary work in Russia, Japan and Poland.
– Within the framework of international cooperation, your ministry implements joint initiatives not only with the ILO, but also with other organizations, in particular, UNDP, the World Bank. Please tell us more about this area of interaction, and what its objectives are.
– The Ministry of Labor of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is implementing the project “Development of Vocational Training Opportunities in Uzbekistan” in order to build up the market for vocational training of unemployed people, as well as creating conditions for professional training and retraining of qualified personnel on the organization of training and retraining of specialists in demand in the labor market.
In accordance with the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan of 13 August 2007 on measures to establish a Vocational Training Center in Tashkent with the participation of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of the Republic of Korea on the implementation of the project “Development of Vocational Training Opportunities in Uzbekistan” signed on 28 December 2007, the Center for Professional Training has been founded in the Sergeli district of Tashkent (for 360 students) owing to the grant funds of the Government of the Republic of Korea.
A similar center, in accordance with the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers dated May 15, 2015, on measures to set up a Vocational Training Center in Samarkand with the assistance of grants of the Government of the Republic of Korea and the Agreed Framework signed between the Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Government of the Republic of Korea on December 3, 2013, on the grant assistance for the project “Increasing the capacity of vocational training in the Samarkand region of Uzbekistan” was opened in Samarkand.
Thanks to the efforts of the Ministry of Labor to bolster vocational training for unemployed citizens, and taking into account the positive results of the Tashkent Center, we will continue to work on attracting gratuitous aid – grants from the Korean government, and the third center in Shahrisabz is planned to be put into operation at the end of this year. In addition, on the proposal of the Ministry of Labor, prepared jointly with the concerned ministries and departments, on April 10, 2017, a Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan on measures to establish vocational training centers for unemployed citizens in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan was adopted. This document includes a program of measures for the phased establishment of vocational training centers for unemployed citizens in all regions of the republic in the period 2017-2020.
Currently, the Ministry of Labor of the Republic of Uzbekistan jointly with the World Bank is implementing a project to create two pilot centers operating in the form of integrated offices “Single Window” for the provision of employment and social protection services. The project is financed through grants under the multilateral rapid social response trust fund for technical assistance activities aimed at improving the delivery of social services by improving the efficiency of processes, in particular at the level of regional offices and increasing the capacity of the Ministry of Labor. The project also provides for the reconstruction of existing buildings of pilot employment promotion centers, their technical equipment and the creation of software to automate the processes of rendering public services.
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Senior Social Development Specialist at the World Bank Robert Wrobel: We see extensive transformation in the labor sphere in Uzbekistan; constructive social dialogue has been established between the state, trade unions and employers, and the World Bank remains committed to further the fruitful cooperation with the republic.
(As part of the social order of the Oliy Majlis Public Fund for Supporting NGOs and Other Civil Society Institutions).
