Uzbekistan to Support Migrant Workers

At a government meeting on April 2nd, following his previous order to facilitate access to the external labour market, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was presented with proposals to streamline labour migration and support Uzbek migrant workers abroad. Over the past two years, the Uzbek Agency for External Labour Migration has assisted 70 thousand people in securing work in developed countries. Many unskilled laborers, however, still opt to work abroad independently and as a result, struggle. To resolve problems encountered by Uzbek citizens working abroad, Uzbekistan is to introduce round-the-clock call centres and labour migration attachés in its embassies and consulates in the UK, Germany, Poland, Hungary, and Japan. A mahalla is a traditional Uzbek community centred in a residential neighbourhood. Under the new initiative, based on the principle “work abroad begins with the mahalla,” local authorities and youth leaders will identify anyone wishing to work abroad and enter their data in a designated “Online Mahalla” platform. Candidates will then be invited to compete for employment abroad. Training will be provided by vocational education institutions for citizens lacking professional skills. In addition, a centre for teaching foreign languages will be opened at the Agency for External Labour Migration to help prepare candidates. The state has announced that it will also reimburse part of the costs of work visas and tickets, as well as the assessment of labour migrants’ knowledge of foreign languages and professional qualifications. Earlier on, the head of state instigated measures to ensure employment for people returning from labour migration.