Earlier, the world community recognized Uzbekistan’s significant progress in eliminating forced labor in the cotton fields. Less than a year later, forced labor is again recorded throughout the country. State employees, especially teachers and doctors, are forced to go from house to house, mahalla and district. There, instead of cotton, they collect votes.
According to the press service of the Labor Ministry, in recent days there have been reports on social networks about the involvement of representatives of various fields to work outside of working hours.
They recalled that, according to Article 7 of the Labor Code, forced labor in Uzbekistan, that is, coercion to perform work under the threat of any punishment (including as a means of maintaining labor discipline), is prohibited.
In addition, according to Article 51 of the Administrative Responsibility Code, administrative coercion to work in any form, with the exception of cases provided for by law, entails the imposition of a fine of 50 to 100 BCAs.
Article 148-2 of the Criminal Code states that administrative coercion to work in any form, except as provided by law, committed after the application of an administrative penalty for the same act, is punishable by a fine of 100 to 150 BCAs or deprivation of a certain rights up to two years or correctional labor up to two years.
In the event of such cases, citizens are asked to call the “hotline” - 1176 or 1092, report via Telegram (links to the Ministry of Labor and the Trade Union). The Ministry of Labor promised that appropriate measures would be taken.
Earlier, it was reported that public sector workers in Uzbekistan began to be forced to vote for projects for preschool and school education facilities. If teachers used to pick cotton and collect money for utilities, now they collect votes.
In addition, there was information that the Initiative Budget project plans to introduce a voting system through Face ID.
