Online meeting on "External labor migration: new challenges during the pandemic"

May 30, 2020 an online meeting was held with adviser to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan, doctor of law, Professor Rashidov Komil Kayumovich on the topic: "External labour migration: new challenges in the period of the pandemic."

The online meeting was was attended by representatives of the faculties of UWED, doctoral students, masters and students, as well as employees of UWED and the National center for human rights of  Republic of Uzbekistan.

During the meeting, Professor K. Rashidov comprehensively and in detail covered the issues of organization of external labor migration in the Republic of Uzbekistan. In particular, the legal framework for external labour migration, measures to organize the work of citizens abroad, procedures for protecting the rights of migrant workers, and challenges and threats in this area in the context of the pandemic were discussed in detail.

According to the lecturer, today there are two main ways of external labor migration: through the Agency of external labor migration and through private employment agencies. At the same time, there is also a constitutional right of citizens to move freely, which allows them to find employment abroad illegally. This in turn generates its own negative consequences.

In addition, special attention was paid to the bilateral agreements of the Republic of Uzbekistan on external labor migration and the specifics of the stay of labor migrants in certain states. In particular, the requirements for candidates, citizens of our country who want to work in countries such as the Russian Federation, Republic of Korea, Turkey, Poland, Kazakhstan and others were clarified.

The main emphasis in his presentation and lecture, Professor K. Rashidov  made the point that it is necessary to raise both legal culture and language literacy among external migrant workers, since these factors contribute to the emergence of various problems and casual situations in this area. In particular, this also applies to the issues of concluding an employment contract, the sufficiency of qualifications and language skills of migrant workers, their social and medical insurance, their legal stay in the country, and others. As Professor K. Rashidov noted, in the context of the coronavirus infection pandemic (COVID -19), the fate of migrant workers is complicated precisely because of these factors. In addition, during the online meeting, the information on the measures taken by the state to help external labor migrants in the period of a pandemic was provided.

During the event, participants showed a keen interest in migration processes, in particular, the outflow of a large number of labor migrants in connection with the pandemic and their further rehabilitation and employment. In general, the meeting left a good impression on all participants.

We express our sincere gratitude to Professor K. Rashidov for a informative and interesting online meeting and hope for fruitful cooperation in the future.

Meeting video