ETUCE and EPSU strongly condemning the approval of the Kyrgyz Republic draft law “On Trade Unions”
Published:
On 9 April 2021, ETUCE and EPSU jointly addressed the President of Kyrgyzstan, calling on Mr Sadyr Japarov to exercise his constitutional right to veto the draft law “On Trade Unions”, which had been approved on 29 March 2021, in the third reading by the Parliament Committee on Social Issues of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Over the past two years, ETUCE and EPSU have been closely monitoring the situation on the respective draft law and robustly supported their Kyrgyz member organisations’ position (Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Kyrgyzstan – TUESWK and Central Committee of the Health Trade Union of Kyrgyztan - KHWU) against the explicit violations of the rights of trade unions as autonomous and independent organisations that the draft law “On Trade Unions” implies.
The draft law “On Trade Unions” stands in contradiction to a series of ILO Conventions, such as the Convention No. 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise and Convention No.98 on Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining both ratified by Kyrgyzstan in 1992. If this draft law was adopted, trade unions would be deprived of the right to independently determine their organisational structures, forms and types of associations and the right to establish their own governing bodies and the terms of their election.
In their letter, ETUCE and EPSU called the President of Kyrgyzstan not to sign this draft law and to defend fundamental rights and freedoms of workers.
Read more on the topic:
Kyrgyzstan: TUESWK opposes proposed draft law “On Trade Unions”
Kyrgyzstan: ETUCE joins TUESWK’s demand to withdraw draft law on “Trade Unions”