Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105) - Turkmenistan (Ratification: 1997)

Previous comment

The Committee notes the Government’s report received on 31 August 2023. It also takes note of the observations of the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), received on 1 September 2023. Moreover, it notes the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), received on 27 September 2023, and the Government’s reply to the ITUC’s observations, received on 27 October and 9 November 2023. The Committee further takes note of the report on the implementation of the 2023 road map for cooperation between the ILO and the Government of Turkmenistan (implementation report), produced following the visit of the independent ILO mission on the observance of the conditions of work and recruitment of cotton pickers during the 2023 harvest.

Follow-up to the conclusions of the Committee on the Application of Standards (International Labour Conference, 111 th Session, June 2023)

The Committee notes the detailed discussion by the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards (Conference Committee), which took place in June 2023 during the 111th Session of the International Labour Conference.

Article 1(b) of the Convention. Imposition of forced labour as a method of mobilizing and using labour for purposes of economic development. Cotton production. The Committee notes that, in its conclusions adopted in June 2023, the Conference Committee deplored the persistence of the widespread use of forced labour in relation to the annual state-sponsored cotton harvest in Turkmenistan and the Government’s failure to make any meaningful progress on the matter since the Conference Committee discussed the case in 2016 and 2021. The Conference Committee further urged the Government, in consultation and cooperation with the social partners, to: (i) ensure the full implementation of the road map for cooperation between the ILO and the Government; (ii) reinforce its efforts to ensure the complete elimination of the use of compulsory labour of public and private sector workers, as well as students, in state-sponsored cotton production; (iii) eliminate the compulsory quota system for production and harvesting of cotton; (iv) issue clear instructions on the prohibition of the use of forced labour and strengthen labour inspection and law enforcement; (v) prosecute and sanction appropriately any public official who participates in the forced mobilization of workers for the cultivation or harvest of cotton; and (vi) promote social dialogue in cotton production and continue engaging in cooperation with the ILO and relevant organizations of workers and employers to ensure the full application of the Convention in practice.

The Committee takes note of the Government’s information in its report concerning the measures taken in the framework of the implementation of the road map for cooperation between the ILO and the Government for 2023 (road map), which was adopted in March 2023 following several ILO high-level technical assistance missions. This road map covers activities in the following six areas: (1) a review of the policy and administrative framework governing the cotton harvest; (2) improvement of labour inspection and law enforcement; (3) promotion of full, productive and freely chosen employment in the cotton sector; (4) improvement of cotton production and harvesting; (5) design and implementation of awareness-raising activities; and (6) promotion of social dialogue in cotton production. In particular, the Government indicates that: (1) an analysis has been carried out of the current legislative framework with regard to the application of the Convention and the resulting draft legislative acts were submitted to Parliament; (2) meetings were held with the participation of the relevant ministries and agencies, social partners and ILO representatives to discuss compliance of the legislation and law enforcement practices with the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), and to proceed towards the ratification of these Conventions; (3) there are ongoing efforts to produce a qualitative study of recruitment practices for the cotton harvest and a quantitative study to assess cotton harvesting trends over the past five years; (4) a technical workshop was held during the ILO mission in July 2023 to discuss seasonal and casual employment in Turkmenistan’s agricultural sector; (5) in 2021–22, more than 200 awareness-raising meetings, workshops and round tables were held to address fair employment issues throughout the country; and (6) the social partners are actively involved in implementing all the measures set out in the road map.

The Committee further notes from the ITUC’s observations that despite the Government’s engagement with the ILO and the adoption of the road map, forced labour practices in cotton production are still prevalent on a massive scale in Turkmenistan. Moreover, the ITUC points out the increased pressure on the heads of state-owned enterprises to mobilize workers to the cotton fields in 2022. In particular, tens of thousands of public sector employees, including teachers, doctors, cultural workers, and civil servants, were mobilized to pick cotton to meet the State’s cotton harvest plan. Cotton pickers were forced to work under hazardous and unsanitary conditions, including in temperatures ranging from -10°C in December to +40°C in August with no shade and an inadequate supply of drinking water. While cotton pickers were exposed to chemicals, they received no warning or protective equipment, and no medical care. They had also to pay for food, water, transportation, and accommodation. The ITUC further indicates that persons were forced to pay for replacement pickers in order not to participate in cotton harvesting. In 2022, the replacement fee varied between 20 to 60 manats per day (about US$1–3), while the average teacher’s salary is between 1,300–1,400 manats per month (about US$65–70).

The Committee notes the Government’s reply to the ITUC’s observations reiterating the measures taken to ensure the implementation of the road map and indicating its intention to discuss the prospects for long-term cooperation with the ILO in the event of the successful implementation of the road map. The Government further refers to the information prepared by the National Centre of Trade Unions of Turkmenistan (NCTU) which indicates that the NCTU did not receive any complaints about the use of forced labour from workers during the cotton harvest. The NCTU further indicates that in some regions of Turkmenistan, local authorities and farmers, in collaboration with employment services, organize the voluntary recruitment of cotton pickers, who are provided with transport and food and receive wages depending on the amount of cotton harvested.

The Committee notes that the IOE, in its observations, expresses hope that progress will be made in the application of the Convention, in line with the Conference Committee’s conclusions and in close consultations with the most representative employers’ organization in Turkmenistan.

The Committee further notes that in its 2023 concluding observations, the United Nations Human Rights Committee expressed remaining concern about the widespread use of the forced labour of civil servants during the cotton harvest (mainly women) under threat of such penalties as the loss of wages or salary cuts and the termination of employment as well as other sanctions (CCPR/C/TKM/CO/3).

The Committee also notes that, with the acceptance of the Government, an independent ILO observance mission of the conditions of work and recruitment of cotton pickers, by ILO staff and independent consultants recruited by ILO, took place during the 2023 harvest in October 2023. The Committee notes that, according to the information contained in the implementation report, initial findings from this observance mission indicate direct or indirect evidence of mobilization of public servants in all regions visited (Ahal, Lebap, Dashoguz and Mary provinces) except for Ashgabat City.

While taking due note of the Government’s collaboration with the ILO in the framework of the road map and during the observance of the cotton harvest in 2023, the Committee reiterates its deep concern about the continued practice of forced labour in the cotton sector. The Committee strongly urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to ensure the complete elimination of the use of compulsory labour of workers, particularly from the public sector, in cotton production. In this regard, the Committee urges the Government to continue to engage with the ILO and the social partners, within a cooperation framework, to ensure the full application of the Convention in practice. It requests the Government to continue to take measures to implement the various components of the road map and to continue to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this respect, including measures to further raise public awareness on this subject and to monitor the cotton harvest.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

[The Government is asked to reply in full to the present comments in 2024.]