The level of ensuring labor rights is one of the important indicators of responsible business behavior, acts as a criterion by which international organizations assess the state's commitment to internationally recognized standards in the field of human rights, a signal to investors about the stability or instability of a particular sector of the economy. But the most important thing is that the well-being of people, their confidence in respect for the right to dignity directly depends on the level of ensuring labor rights.

In Kyrgyzstan, the Control and Supervision Service is engaged in the protection of workers' rights

Labor legislation under the Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration of the Kyrgyz Republic. The Department was established on December 17, 2021. Since May 2022, the agency has resumed inspections of compliance with labor legislation, for which a moratorium has been in effect for a long time.

The results achieved in the protection of human rights in the field of labor relations were reported in the department of the Central Office of the Service for Control and Supervision of Labor Legislation.

Where to apply in case of violation of labor rights?

The Agency urges citizens whose labor rights have been violated to promptly contact the Service for Control and Supervision of Labor Legislation under the Ministry of Labor, Social Security and Migration of the Kyrgyz Republic.

“If the labor rights of citizens have been violated, they can contact us. We act according to the law, if they did not even have an employment contract, the employer, if he allowed the employee to work, then, in accordance with article 57 of the Labor Code, the contract is considered concluded,” says Kubanych Syrgabaev, head of the Department of the Service for Control and Supervision of Labor Legislation.

According to him, even in cases of absence of an employment contract, citizens can seek help from the agency.

“To be honest, our compatriots are very trusting, they do not know their rights. Here I would just recommend, even at the university level, that they be provided with knowledge of labor legislation, or else there was a subject at school on preventing violations of labor rights. Because in the future, people get a job and in the process of work it is very difficult for them because of ignorance of their rights, so they do not seek help,” says Syrgabayev.

You can return wages at any time

He notes that, in accordance with the labor legislation, article 314 of the Labor Code, issues related to wages do not have a statute of limitations. “A citizen who previously worked in the organization can contact our Service even after 30 years and demand his salary from his former employer,” Kubanych Syrgabayev said.

A real-life case of non-payment of wages 

“There was a precedent for non-payment of wages, it was one of the first applications received by our service. I managed to help a person to collect wages in the amount of 780.000 SOM. The employer promised to pay this person a salary for several months. A citizen could not get it for six months. The person appealed to all authorities, but during this difficult period for him, he wrote an application to our department, with the thought “I will write, nothing will change, everything will remain the same,” but fortunately I managed to recover this amount and pay our compatriot his salary,” recalls Syrgabayev with a smile.

Supervision of compliance with labor legislation: types of inspections

In 2022, the Service for Supervision and Control of Labor Legislation received 996 appeals, conducted 816 inspections. The remaining appeals were redirected to the relevant departments.

Types of inspections:

● Scheduled inspection,

● Unscheduled inspection,

● Control checks,

Scheduled inspection – based on the quarterly report, we review which areas we will check, then we receive an order from the Ministry of Economy and on the basis of this we carry out a scheduled inspection.

An unscheduled inspection is carried out according to the submitted application, i.e. a person working at the enterprise comes and writes a statement without fail that he has been infringed on his legal rights. Based on his application, we receive an order from the Ministry of Economy and conduct an inspection. The outcome of this check we conclude with a control check.  We fix the detected violations during the inspection, then check whether these violations were eliminated and how it was eliminated. Then we make a report on the results of the control check. If a report has been received that an accident has occurred with a person, our service begins an investigation. This investigation is carried out according to the order of our service.

Accident investigations

In 2022, the Labor Law Control and Supervision Service conducted 110 investigations. Of these, 79 accidents occurred at business entities. 132 people suffered from workplace accidents, 64 of them were seriously injured, 51 were fatal, including 4 women, and 13 were group accidents. According to him, in 2022, for injuries received at the workplace, the agency has achieved compensation in favor of workers in the amount of more than 330 million KG som. About 9 million soms of unpaid wages were collected from employers in favor of employees.

“The employer compensates for various degrees of losses. For example, in a situation of loss of the breadwinner, the employer, according to the Labor Code and in accordance with the regulations on labor protection, pays compensation for the loss of the breadwinner. One–time and monthly allowance,” says Syrgabayev.

Illegal dismissal 

“Another case, when I was only an inspector, a person turned to our service. The issue of illegal dismissal. During the inspection, I helped this person, without bringing the situation to court, to be reinstated. To date, we have managed to maintain a very warm relationship with this person,” the head of the Department of the Labor Law Protection and Supervision Service recalls with warmth in his eyes.

Main topics of appeals

According to the head of the department, people most often apply for non-payment of wages, illegal dismissal, accidents at enterprises,most often these accidents are hidden.

“The service is not notified in a timely manner in accordance with Article 223 of the Kyrgyz Republic. If an accident has occurred at the enterprise, the employer must inform us. Further, based on what happened, we create a commission, conduct an investigation, and then give an opinion about the employee.”, - the official says.

Most often, the commission consists of three specialists - the chairman of the commission is the Service for Control and Supervision of Labor Legislation, an independent the Central Federation of Trade Unions of the Kyrgyz Republic and one representative from the employer.

Are there any differences in the behavior of large and small businesses in the field of labor relations?

During the inspections, it is observed that large companies behave more responsibly, they mostly comply with the law. Small and medium-sized businesses do not have enough resources to fully ensure compliance with labor legislation. The Service, based on its experience, also notes that large companies tend to be more open, in particular due to the need to bring information to shareholders, founders, to whom it is necessary to report. 

Such companies work in compliance with legal requirements. At the same time, it is common practice to conclude fixed-term employment contracts (for six months, for a year) in order to keep the employee on a "short leash" (the employee is afraid of losing his job after the expiration of the contract, is in constant tension).

This suggests that small and medium-sized businesses may need additional support and assistance from the state, international organizations, business associations in their efforts to ensure the operation of international standards in the field of human rights in practice.

Steps to improvement 

The labor protection policy is conducted by the Ministry of Labor, Social Development and Migration of the Kyrgyz Republic. The Agency participates in the development of the National Business and Human Rights Action Plan (NAP) based on the UN Guidelines. The Service for Control and Supervision of Labor Legislation is part of an interdepartmental working group and provides its proposals for improving coordination with government agencies and business representatives for further implementation of the NAP.

The Agency, together with other communities, conducts trainings to improve the skills of inspectors and business representatives.

"We conduct consultations for free, on the contrary, we are even pleased to share this with representatives of business entities. How to conduct your business correctly on the basis of the Labor Code. We are always open and ready to help not only those who have suffered from business representatives, but also those who hire employees in the future to prevent serious consequences, such as accidents and other violations of human rights standards in the labor sphere," says Kubanych Syrgabayev.

To the Service for Supervision and Control of Labor Legislation under the Ministry

labor, social security and migration of the Kyrgyz Republic can

be accessed through the website http://trudnadzor.kg / or at the address: Bishkek city, Moskovskaya Street, house No. 197 crosses Umetalieva Street. Phone number for inquiries: 0(312) 454 40 59; 0(312) 45 40 57.

This article is an element of an information campaign to promote human rights issues in the aspect of entrepreneurship in Kyrgyzstan within the framework of the UNDP project "Business and Human Rights" (B+HR), with the financial support of the Government of Japan.
 

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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is one of the leading development organizations in Kyrgyzstan. Since 1993, we have been working in various areas, including inclusive development, environmental protection, crisis response, gender equality promotion, and collaborative efforts towards sustainable development goals.

Media Contact: Nurzhan Alymkanova, Communications Specialist, UNDP Nurzhan.alymkanova@undp.org