Teachers and doctors in three regions of Turkmenistan have been freed from the obligation to go and pick cotton or pay money to hire workers in their stead. This may be connected with the upcoming visits to Turkmenistan of a monitoring mission of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and representatives of the U.S. Department of Labor. It is to be hoped that the exemption of this category of public sector workers from cotton picking is not a temporary measure because of the important visitors, but the first step on the road towards eradicating forced labor in Turkmenistan.
MoreUzbek Forum has interviewed dozens of workers and farmers who have reported the loss of livelihoods caused by illegal land confiscations, lack of access to land, mass redundancies and abuse of labor contracts, as well as attempts to dismantle the trade union. Furthermore, farmers contracted to deliver cotton to Indorama Agro complain of delayed payments for the cotton they have delivered and exploitative contracts that include no minimum price for their cotton. Workers and stakeholders who speak out, risk retaliation and intimidation. Following interviews with Uzbek Forum monitors, farmers and workers have been interrogated by security service officials and warned against speaking to “international organizations”.
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