Courts and Trade Unions in Kazakhstan Fail to Adequately Protect Workers

In the first half of June, a wave of worker protests swept across Kazakhstan, extending from the Kazakhmys mine in the center of the country to a phosphorus plant in the south. Described by authorities as "illegal," these spontaneous strikes are a continuation of a trend where organizing through legal channels is nearly impossible.

The government of President Kasım-Comart Tokayev claims to have made a series of amendments to the Labor Code in order to protect workers' rights and improve collective bargaining. However, independent trade union activists and human rights defenders argue that these changes are merely cosmetic and that the legislation continues to largely serve the interests of employers. Experts emphasize that the core problem in the country is the absence of an independent judiciary capable of guaranteeing a fair trial in any labor dispute.

Independent union members state that they are frequently subjected to employers' intimidation tactics and that the courts almost always side with the employers. The law's requirement to open branches in at least half of the country in order to establish a nationwide union effectively makes independent organizing impossible.