Baku, Azerbaijan, June 7
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
Uzbekistan’s agreements with Russia, Turkey and other labor receiving countries are a positive step which will hopefully lead to better and safer conditions for Uzbek migrants, Chief Technical Advisor for the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Uzbekistan Jonas Astrup told Trend on June 7.
He added that the Ministry of Labor of Uzbekistan has recently undertaken measures to regulate labor migration and improve working conditions for Uzbek workers abroad.
“Migration is not an issue that is specific to Uzbekistan. It’s a global issue. According to the ILO, in 2013, migrant workers accounted for 150 million of the world’s approximately 232 million international migrants,” Astrup said.
He emphasized that migrant workers contribute to growth and development in their countries of destination, while countries of origin greatly benefit from their remittances and the skills acquired during their migration experience.
“Yet, the migration process implies complex challenges in terms of governance, migrant workers' protection, migration and development linkages, and international cooperation. We are pleased to see the efforts of the government of Uzbekistan to forge policies to maximize the benefits of labor migration for all those involved,” Astrup added.
He reminded that migrant workers can be in a vulnerable situation far away from their home countries and it is necessary to pay special attention to this issue.
“Everybody has a right to decent work. It doesn’t matter whether you are Chinese, Uzbek, Russian or from another country. This is exactly why the ILO promotes international instruments and solutions to these cross-border situations,” Astrup said.
Commenting on the number of migrant workers from other countries in Uzbekistan, he said that Uzbekistan, generally speaking, is a labor sending country.
“Uzbekistan is a young nation with a large workforce. While there may be some migrant workers in Uzbekistan – either formally or informally – we don’t see this as a major trend at this point in time,” Astrup concluded
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