Europe & Central Asia
Republic of Georgia, Solidarity Center, metro technician, unions In Europe and Central Asia, the Solidarity Center helps unions defend worker rights, promote legal reform and adherence to international labor standards and help workers gain their rightful voice in the political and economic processes. The economy throughout the region has been buffeted by the sluggish Euro-zone economy, where European Union policy since 2008 has promoted harsh fiscal “austerity” that has deepened and lengthened the economic crisis. The region’s economy also is tied in with the Russian economy, which is heavily dependent upon the energy market. Further, workers have seen rollbacks in workplace protections and social benefits and diminished benefits under collective bargaining agreements as a result of the International Monetary Fund’s push for a radical free-market approach. With fewer formal economy jobs available, more and more workers in this region seek jobs in the low-wage informal economy, where workplace protections are few or non-existent. Other workers are forced to migrate to find a job. With Russia, Ukraine has the second largest migration corridor in the world, and labor migration within the region continues to grow, especially as more Ukrainians, Moldovans and southeastern Europeans seek employment in western Europe. In addition, Central Asian workers increasingly are migrating to Russia. Throughout the Central Asia region, governments have implemented civil society restrictions, with the notable exception of Kyrgyzstan, which has a nominally democratic government. Labor rights reporters and advocates have been imprisoned for their work, or faced other legal penalties. Unions are frequently under attack by both employers and governments. In this increasingly repressive climate, women and LGBT workers have been especially hard-hit. Protections and social benefits for women in the workplace have been rolled back and violence against women and LGBT workers is widely denied or ignored. LGBT workers are routinely denied protection from workplace discrimination. To address ongoing labor rights abuses, and hold governments in Central Asia accountable to their obligations under international labor conventions, the Solidarity Center in 2016 joined with independent trade unions, human rights organizations and other interested groups to form the Central Asian Monitoring Mission. Mission partners train activists to document and report violations, exchange information, analyze regional trends and provide critical support for human rights defenders and organizations under threat. The Mission has undertaken successful solidarity campaigns that freed human rights activists, and utilized its database of violations to provide facts that counter government propaganda and provide the foundation for reports and complaints to the International Labor Organization. Solidarity Center programs also promote democratic political reforms that encourage participation of workers and their families in the political process, strengthening the role of unions as a fundamental segment of civil society.

Media Contact

Kate Conradt
Communications Director
(+1) 202-974 -8369

 

Ukraine Union Whistleblower Wins Appeal, Struggle Continues

In a boost for Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts and worker rights, Olena Bebeshko, leader of the Independent Trade Union of Aviation Workers of Ukraine at the VIP terminal at Kyiv’s Boryspil International Airport, won a landmark legal victory last week. An appeals...

Belarus Crackdown Violates Worker, Human Rights, Say Rights Experts

A vicious crackdown in Belarus on striking workers peacefully protesting President Lukashenko’s refusal to leave power despite months-long popular protests is drawing the attention and condemnation of worker and human rights experts, including Amnesty International,...

‘Information Is the Key’: Empowering Kyrgyzstan’s Young Workers

To promote youth civic engagement and the fair employment of women, workers with disabilities and those migrating outside the country to earn a living, the Solidarity Center’s second annual School of Young Leaders in Bishkek educated dozens of young people in...
Kyrgyzstan Workers, Youth Launch Campaign Against Human Trafficking

Kyrgyzstan Workers, Youth Launch Campaign Against Human Trafficking

Insan-Leilek foundation and the Trade Union of Migrants of the Kyrgyz Republic, both Solidarity Center partners in Kyrgyzstan, are actively engaged in the “100 Days Against Trafficking in Persons” youth campaign. With a focus this year on worsening risks for workers...

Uzbekistan: Progress, but Continued Forced Labor in Cotton Fields

Uzbekistan: Progress, but Continued Forced Labor in Cotton Fields

A new report on Uzbekistan’s 2019 cotton harvest by Uzbek Forum for Human Rights documents progress toward ending—but not eradication—of state-sponsored forced labor, says the Cotton Campaign. The report, “Tashkent’s Reforms Have Not Yet Reached Us,” finds that a...

Ukraine Workers Mobilize Against COVID-19

Ukraine Workers Mobilize Against COVID-19

As the COVID-19 crisis deepens in Ukraine and scandals are alleged regarding state procurement of  personal protective equipment (PPE), worker rights activists are leveraging trade unions’ collective power to advocate for better pay and conditions for working people...

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