Collective Agreement in Uzbekistan: Is It Mandatory and What to Include

Is a collective agreement mandatory?

The Labour Code does not require every company to have a collective agreement: the decision to conclude one and the proposal to start bargaining may come from either party (Article 66). But once such a proposal is received, bargaining cannot be refused.

A party that receives written notice of the start of collective bargaining must enter into it within seven days and reply to the initiator (Article 61). The parties provide each other with information needed for bargaining within two weeks of a request (Article 60). In addition, several provisions of the Code refer directly to the collective agreement — for example, the procedure for summarised recording of working time or the list of jobs with reduced hours. Without an agreement, such matters are decided by the employer in agreement with the trade union committee.

Who conducts bargaining

Employees' interests within an organisation are represented by the trade union committee; the same body may not represent both employees and the employer (Article 42). Bargaining on behalf of employees may not be conducted by persons representing the employer, by organisations created or funded by the employer, by government bodies or by political parties (Article 60 as amended by Law No. ZRU-1109).

For bargaining and drafting, a bilateral commission on social and labour issues is formed with an equal number of employee and employer representatives (Articles 49, 66). Participants are released from their main work with average pay retained for an agreed period; during bargaining they may not be dismissed, disciplined or transferred without the consent of the body that appointed them (Article 64).

What a collective agreement includes

The parties determine the content and structure of the agreement (Article 67). Typical sections:

• forms, systems and amount of pay, bonuses, allowances, compensation and supplements, and an indexation mechanism reflecting prices and inflation;
• employment, retraining, professional development and conditions for redundancy;
• working time, rest time and leave;
• working conditions and occupational safety, including for women, persons with disabilities and employees under eighteen;
• benefits for employees combining work and study, voluntary medical and social insurance;
• additional employer contributions to employees' individual pension savings accounts;
• monitoring of performance, liability of the parties and conditions for the trade union committee's work.
• subject to the organisation's economic capacity — more favourable terms: extra leave, meals, payment for mobile and internet, transport compensation, tuition fees.

Which terms are void

• terms that worsen employees' position compared with legislation or collective agreements that apply to them;
• terms that breach the prohibition of discrimination at work and of forced labour;
• terms that go beyond matters that can be decided at the local level.
• invalidity of a single term does not invalidate the whole agreement (Article 68).

How an agreement is concluded: step by step

• written notice of bargaining — reply within seven days (Article 61);
• the commission's work; where there is no agreement, a record of disagreements is drawn up with dates for resuming bargaining (Article 63);
• discussion of the draft by employees in divisions and revision based on comments (Article 69);
• approval by the general meeting (conference) of the workforce — more than 50% of those present; the meeting is quorate if more than half of employees attend (Articles 36, 70);
• if the draft is not approved — revision and resubmission within fifteen days;
• signature by the parties' representatives within three days after approval (Article 70);
• all employees are acquainted with it against signature within ten days of entry into force, and new employees on hiring (Article 78).

Term, amendments and monitoring

The agreement enters into force on signature or on the date stated in it and is valid for the term it sets, but no more than three years. After that it remains in force until the parties conclude a new one or amend the existing one; it may be extended before expiry (Article 71). Amendments follow the same procedure as conclusion (Article 77).

The agreement applies to the employer and all employees, including those hired after it took effect (Article 72). It is monitored by the parties, the commission, the workforce and the bodies of the Ministry of Employment; annually or as the agreement provides, the parties report on its performance to the general meeting (Article 79).