A scientific practical conference on labour protection and safe working conditions was held in Tashkent, UzA reported.

The event organised by the Council of the Federation of Trade Unions was attended by the deputies of the Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis, the concerned members of the women’s committee of Uzbekistan, representatives of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, as well as a number of other ministries and agencies, state and non-governmental organizations, representatives of the International Labour Organisation, Federation of Trade Unions of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

According to statistics, ever year some 270 million accidents happen at work and some 160 million people’s health is affected as a result of professional work. The ILO has estimated that due to poor labour safety and working conditions, 4% of the world GDP is lost annually.

At the conference led by the Chairman of the Council of Trade Unions Federation of Uzbekistan Dilbar Jahongirova, it was specifically pointed out that the large-scale reforms being implemented in the country on the initiative of President Karimov to develop the economy and social infrastructure are aimed at raising the population’s living standards and protecting citizens’ priority interests.

An example of such initiatives is the creation of alternative and safe working conditions. The Article 37 of the Constitution of Uzbekistan states that in the country every citizen has the right for labour, free choice of work, fair working conditions and protection against unemployment in line with the order established by the legislation.

This factor plays an important role in the socio-economic development of the society as a whole. As bad labour conditions lead to excessive labour and other resource costs. A well-established, sound system of labour protection, creation of good, comfortable conditions is of interest both to workers and employers, as well as the state.

Large-scale work is being implemented in the country to improve labour protection in all sectors of economy. An important contribution to this work is enclosed by the Federation of Trade Unions of Uzbekistan.

As a result of measures implemented by the state organizations, employers and trade unions to improve the system of labour protection, its regulatory-legal base, to improve the efficiency of control over compliance with the labour legislation, a reduction in the registered number of accidents at work has been recorded.

Conference participants discussed the issues concerning the solution of topical issues concerning safety and working conditions, coordination of the efforts of state agencies and departments, trade unions and inspections.

Participants shared opinions on the experience of other countries in this field, development of efficient measures aimed at improving the labour protection in Uzbekistan.