Emerging Europe this week
Central Europe
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said this week that his government plans to impose a new levy on advertising revenues and use the proceeds to support the national health care system, culture and free media. “This is nothing new and something we agreed upon in the European Union some time ago,” said Mr Morawiecki. The PM said that the levy is intended to create better conditions for the development of free media. “We are dealing with a huge imbalance. Global media corporations dominate and can do so even more through their capital power.” The new tax, which has been fiercely criticised by independent broadcasters and publishers, is expected to take effect from July 1, and could raise up to 800 million zloty (178 million euros) in 2022.
“When I was a child, we unfortunately missed a lot of school classes because of the cotton harvest,” says Dilshoda Shodmonova from Chircik, near the capital Tashkent. “Today, thanks to the reforms, my own daughter can go to school uninterrupted and get her education. This encourages me to continue my work as a labour rights activist.”
According to the ILO, the country is making significant progress on fundamental labour rights in the cotton fields. More than 96 per cent of workers in the 2020 cotton harvest worked freely and the systematic recruitment of students, teachers, doctors and nurses has completely stopped.
In 2020, the share of cotton pickers that experienced coercion was 33 per cent lower than in 2019. However, there were still cases at the local level of people being threatened with loss of privileges or rights if they declined an invitation to pick cotton.
Cotton Campaign: Workers and farmers appear vulnerable to abuses by clusters POLITICS 09:54 / 03.02.2021 946
Bennett Freeman, a co-founder of the Cotton Campaign, which aims to end forced labor in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields, is confident that the government’s commitment to eliminating forced labor in the cotton sector will remain strong and unchanging. Freeman made the statement during a roundtable discussion on the topic “Towards Sustainable Development through Decent Work” organized by the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations.
The Cotton Campaign applauds the continued commitment of the Government of Uzbekistan (GOU) to this historic process of reform to end forced labor in the cotton sector. We have no doubt that this commitment remains strong and steadfast. We appreciate the critical importance of the ILO/Third Party Monitoring (TPM) effort, along with the essential role for parallel monitori
Cotton Campaign announces the results of monitoring in Uzbekistan for 2020 POLITICS 17:05 / 29.01.2021 474
In a notable sign of change, the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, the Cotton Campaign’s frontline partner, did not document any cases of forced labor in some cotton-growing districts for the first time in ten years of monitoring forced labor in the Uzbek cotton harvest, the Coalition said in a statement.
Experienced independent monitors in the Uzbek Forum’s network reported higher numbers of voluntary pickers in places they monitored, and fewer encounters with pickers mobilized against their will. Monitors did document instances of forced labor organized by officials, however, as well as instances in which employees at state enterprises were required to contribute portions of their salary to hire cotton pickers.
Cotton Campaign welcomes significant progress of Uzbekistan in ending forced labor of cotton pickers
AKIPRESS.COM - The Cotton Campaign has welcomed significant further progress toward ending forced labor of cotton pickers in the 2020 cotton harvest in Uzbekistan. In a notable sign of change, the Uzbek Forum for Human Rights, the Cotton Campaign’s frontline partner, did not document any cases of forced labor in some cotton-growing districts for the first time in ten years of monitoring forced labor in the Uzbek cotton harvest.
Experienced independent monitors in the Uzbek Forum’s network reported higher numbers of voluntary pickers in places they monitored, and fewer encounters with pickers mobilized against their will. Monitors did document instances of forced labororganized by officials, however, as well as instances in which employees at state enterprises were required to contribute portions of their salary to hire cotton pickers, Cotton Campaign said in its statement.