Forced labor: Official warning issued to authorities

In some regions of Uzbekistan, local government bodies have been found to forcibly involve employees in population registration work outside of working hours. This was reported by Zamin.uz.

According to the Labor Inspection, such situations have occurred in some places as "mandatory assignments." As a result of the inspections, official warning letters have been sent to the khokimiyats of Bukhara city, Oltinkol, Asaka, and Marhamat districts.

Additionally, a submission to eliminate violations has been made to the Andijan regional khokimiyat. The Labor Inspection emphasized that involving employees in work outside of working hours without their consent is considered forced labor and is contrary to current legislation.

Especially, the occurrence of such violations by government bodies is a serious cause for concern. The Inspection reminds that overtime work should only be performed with the voluntary consent of the employee.

According to Article 262 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, appropriate payment must be made for additional work. By law, for the first two hours, at least 1.5 times the regular wage must be paid, and for the subsequent hours, at least twice the regular wage.

Source: one.uz