According to the latest findings from the International Labour Organization (ILO), Uzbekistan was successful in eliminating systemic forced labour and systematic child labour throughout the cotton production cycle of 2021.
Since the cotton sector reform in Uzbekistan began seven years ago, the ILO estimates that two million children have been taken out of child labour and half a million adults have been freed from forced labour.
According to the ‘2021 ILO Third-Party Monitoring Report of the Cotton Harvest in Uzbekistan,’ which is based on 11,000 interviews with cotton pickers, 99 percent of people who participated in the cotton harvest in 2021 worked voluntarily. Forced labour incidents were claimed to be “extremely few or non-existent” in all provinces and districts.
Direct or perceived forms of coercion were experienced by about 1% of the population. According to the research, 0.47 percent of respondents reported actual or perceived threats from Mahalla representatives (community leaders) about social benefits, while 0.12 percent reported direct or perceived threats from employers regarding job loss or salary.
The findings came from the latest from the ILO Third-Party Monitoring project, which has been monitoring the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan since 2015 under a World Bank agreement.
The country has long been plagued by the widespread use of child and forced labour in the cotton harvest and production processes, prompting a boycott of Uzbekistan cotton in 2006. The boycott was sparked by the country’s long-standing practise of utilising forced labour to pick cotton– and is backed by more than 300 apparel brands and retailers.
According to an ILO statement, the majority of cotton pickers interviewed indicated working conditions have improved since 2020, with only 5 % indicating they were worse than the previous year. This pertains to transportation, food, water, sanitation, and other amenities.
According to the research, one out of every eight persons in Uzbekistan of working-age took part in the cotton harvest, which was the world’s largest recruitment drive. Women made up 62 percent of pickers, with the vast majority hailing from rural areas.
Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, said that their collaboration has paid off because this year’s report demonstrates that Uzbek cotton is free of systemic child labour and forced labour after seven years. Uzbekistan now has a chance to achieve its goal of advancing up the value chain and creating millions of decent full-time jobs in the textile and garment manufacturing industries.
Uzbekistan is the world’s sixth-largest cotton producer. The government has begun on changes under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, including the modernization of the country’s prior agrarian economic model and the abolition of child labour and forced labour in the yearly cotton harvest, which was previously prevalent.
According to the latest findings from the International Labour Organization (ILO), Uzbekistan was successful in eliminating systemic forced labour and systematic child labour throughout the cotton production cycle of 2021.
Since the cotton sector reform in Uzbekistan began seven years ago, the ILO estimates that two million children have been taken out of child labour and half a million adults have been freed from forced labour.
According to the ‘2021 ILO Third-Party Monitoring Report of the Cotton Harvest in Uzbekistan,’ which is based on 11,000 interviews with cotton pickers, 99 percent of people who participated in the cotton harvest in 2021 worked voluntarily. Forced labour incidents were claimed to be “extremely few or non-existent” in all provinces and districts.
Direct or perceived forms of coercion were experienced by about 1% of the population. According to the research, 0.47 % of respondents reported actual or perceived threats from Mahalla representatives (community leaders) about social benefits, while 0.12 % reported direct or perceived threats from employers regarding job loss or salary.
The findings came from the latest from the ILO Third-Party Monitoring project, which has been monitoring the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan since 2015 under a World Bank agreement.
The country has long been plagued by the widespread use of child and forced labour in the cotton harvest and production processes, prompting a boycott of Uzbekistan cotton in 2006. The boycott was sparked by the country’s long-standing practise of utilising forced labour to pick cotton– and is backed by more than 300 apparel brands and retailers.
According to an ILO statement, the majority of cotton pickers interviewed indicated working conditions have improved since 2020, with only 5 % indicating they were worse than the previous year. This pertains to transportation, food, water, sanitation, and other amenities.
According to the research, one out of every eight persons in Uzbekistan of working-age took part in the cotton harvest, which was the world’s largest recruitment drive. Women made up 62 percent of pickers, with the vast majority hailing from rural areas.
Guy Ryder, ILO Director-General, said that their collaboration has paid off because this year’s report demonstrates that Uzbek cotton is free of systemic child labour and forced labour after seven years. Uzbekistan now has a chance to achieve its goal of advancing up the value chain and creating millions of decent full-time jobs in the textile and garment manufacturing industries.
Uzbekistan is the world’s sixth-largest cotton producer. The government has begun on changes under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, including the modernisation of the country’s prior agrarian economic model and the abolition of child labour and forced labour in the yearly cotton harvest, which was previously prevalent.
Uzbek cotton is free from systemic child labour and forced labour
Almost two million people are recruited every year for the annual cotton harvest in Uzbekistan. The country has succeeded in eradicating systemic forced labour and systemic child labour during the 2021 cotton production cycle, according to new ILO findings.
n estimated two million children have been taken out of child labour and half a million adults out of forced labour since the reform process of the Uzbekistan’s cotton sector began seven years ago.
According to the forthcoming 2021 ILO Third-Party Monitoring Report of the Cotton Harvest in Uzbekistan based on eleven thousand interviews with cotton pickers, 99 per cent of those involved in the 2021 cotton harvest worked voluntarily. All provinces and districts had very few or no forced labour cases.
About one per cent were subject to direct or perceived forms of coercion. The data shows that 0.47 % of respondents reported direct or perceived threats by Mahalla representatives (local officials at the community level) related to social benefits, and 0.12 % of respondents reported direct or perceived threats by employers related to loss of employment or wages.
The findings are the latest from the ILO Third-Party Monitoring project, which has been monitoring the cotton harvest in Uzbekistan since 2015 under an agreement with the World Bank.
A majority of cotton pickers who took part in interviews said that working conditions had improved since 2020. Only five per cent said that the conditions were worse than the previous year. This relates to transportation, food, access to water, hygienic and other facilities.
According to the report, one in eight people of working age in Uzbekistan participated in the cotton harvest – the world’s largest recruitment effort. Sixty-two per cent of pickers were women, and the vast majority were from rural areas.
“Our collaboration has yielded good results – because after 7 years, this year’s report shows that Uzbek cotton is free from systemic child labour and systemic forced labour,” said ILO Director-General Guy Ryder. “There is now an opportunity for Uzbekistan to realize its goal of moving up the value chain and to create millions of decent full-time jobs in textile and garment manufacturing.”
Uzbekistan is the sixth largest cotton producer in the world. Under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, the country has embarked on reforms that include the modernization of the country’s former agricultural economic model and the eradication of child labour and forced labour in the annual cotton harvest that was previously prevalent.
“We worked tirelessly to change thinking and behaviour through awareness raising campaigns on labour rights. We criminalized child labour and forced labour. We enhanced our labour inspection and we engaged in dialogue with civil society to identify common ground and solutions.”
Jonas Astrup, Chief Technical Advisor of the ILO TPM Project in Uzbekistan said that monitors observed new developments which indicate the democratization of the labour market in Uzbekistan.
“For the first time, the minimum wage was consulted with not only the government but also the trade unions and employers of Uzbekistan. We also observed an emerging trend of collective bargaining at the grass-root level. Cotton pickers would engage in informal wage negotiations with farmers and textile clusters. Many pickers were paid well above the minimum wage as a result.”
Shukrat Ganiev, an independent human rights activist who has been monitoring the cotton harvest with ILO for several years said, “We need to shift our focus to decent job creation. People in Uzbekistan need jobs with decent wages and good working conditions. To get there we need international brands and retailers to engage in responsible sourcing from Uzbekistan.”
The ILO Third-Party Monitoring project is implemented with support from the European Union, the US State Department, the Government of Switzerland, and Germany. It will conclude in May this year and by request of the government, and workers’ and employers’ organizations in Uzbekistan a feasibility study for a Better Work programme will be undertaken. The Better Work Programme is a joint initiative of the ILO and The World Bank Group.