Courts and Unions Fail to Protect Workers in Kazakhstan

Читайте этот материал на русском. In the first half of June, a wave of labor protests erupted across Kazakhstan, from a Kazakhmys mine in the country’s center to a phosphorus plant in the south, a stark reminder that labor rights issues are never far from the surface.The strikes were spontaneous, continuing a trend of labor actions that officials have termed “illegal,” and which experts say would have been virtually impossible to organize through legal channels.The government of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has introduced several amendments to the labor Code over the past few years, ostensibly aiming to protect workers’ rights and improve collective bargaining.But independent trade union activists, researchers, and human rights defenders argue that these changes have been merely cosmetic, and that labor legislation remains repressive, largely favoring employers’ interests.Experts surveyed by Vlast also think that the core issue in Kazakhstan remains the absence of an independent judiciary capable of guaranteeing a fair hearing for any labor dispute that may arise. A Repressive ClimateOn paper, trade unions serve as the primary institution by which workers’ rights are protected.For more than three decades in Kazakhstan, however, they have been under constant pressure.