What is the main occupational safety and health law in Turkmenistan and who enforces it?

The main occupational safety and health law in Turkmenistan is the Labour Code of Turkmenistan (Türkmenistanyň Zähmet kodeksi), in force since 1 July 2009, whose Section XI "Labour protection" (Articles 171 to 205) sets the employer's duties. It is enforced mainly by the Main State Service "Türkmenstandartlary", with the labour ministry, sector ministries, local authorities and trade union inspections also exercising control.

Short answer

• Main act: Labour Code of Turkmenistan, approved by Law No. 29-IV of 18 April 2009, in force 1 July 2009, amended many times (latest amendments in the text we consulted: 22 November 2025).
• Old law repealed: the Law "On Labour Protection" of 1 October 1993 was repealed when the Code entered into force; do not cite it.
• Hazardous facilities: Law No. 495-V on Industrial Safety of Hazardous Production Facilities, signed 4 February 2017, adds registration, hazard classes, licensing, expertise and declarations.
• Executive OSH authority: Türkmenstandartlary (Labour Code Article 182), which supervises, investigates accidents, issues binding orders, suspends work and fines.
• Other controllers: a labour inspection body authorised by the Cabinet of Ministers (in practice the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population), sector ministries, local authorities and trade union technical labour inspections.
• ILO: in April 2021 the government reported 10 ratified ILO conventions, eight of them fundamental; none is an OSH convention (No. 155, No. 161 or No. 187), and we found no later OSH ratification.

The legal framework in more detail

Turkmenistan follows the post-Soviet model in which "labour protection" (Turkmen zähmeti goramak, Russian охрана труда) is a chapter of the labour code rather than a separate act. Section XI defines labour protection as a system of legal, socio-economic, organisational, technical, sanitary, medical and rehabilitation measures for safe working conditions (Article 171), lists the worker's rights (Article 173) and the employer's 24 duties (Article 178), and covers the labour protection service (Article 185), committees (Article 186), medical examinations (Article 187), PPE (Article 188), training (Articles 193 and 194), accident investigation (Article 200) and liability (Articles 203 to 205). Article 320 adds the attestation of workplaces at least every five years.

Detailed rules sit in secondary acts: the accident investigation procedure approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, ministerial orders such as Order No. 106-Ö of 30 November 2012 on the labour protection service and specialist, norms for PPE and compensations, and sector safety rules. Administrative fines are in the Code of Administrative Offences approved by Law No. 422-IV of 29 August 2013 (in force 1 January 2014): Türkmenstandartlary hears labour protection and safe-work cases (Article 481), the labour authorities other labour law cases (Article 479). Official texts are adopted in Turkmen; Russian versions are translations.

Who enforces it and how

Inspectors of the executive OSH bodies may enter enterprises at any time, demand information, issue binding orders, suspend or prohibit the operation of enterprises, workshops, workplaces and equipment, fine managers, officials and workers, propose the removal of officials and pass files to the prosecutor (Article 182(3)). Hazardous facilities of classes I and II have planned inspections at least once a year and class III at least once every three years.

What could not be verified

The ILO NORMLEX country page could not be opened, so later ratifications should be checked there. Which state body is designated for industrial safety supervision in each sector, and the current amended text of the administrative fines (we could open only the 2013 text), should be confirmed with Türkmenstandartlary or local counsel.

Related on excodex

• Occupational safety and health in Turkmenistan: law, authorities and employer duties
• What are the penalties for breaking occupational safety rules in Turkmenistan?
• Must an employer in Turkmenistan appoint a safety professional or an occupational physician?
• ILO OSH conventions and their fundamental status

Standards and further reading

• Labour Code of Turkmenistan, Law No. 29-IV of 18 April 2009, consolidated Russian translation (FAOLEX): https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/tuk243144.pdf
• Law No. 495-V on Industrial Safety of Hazardous Production Facilities, 4 February 2017 (FAOLEX): https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/tuk184581.pdf
• Law on Labour Protection, 1 October 1993 (repealed 2009): https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/tuk207608.pdf
• Order No. 106-Ö of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population, 30 November 2012: https://mlsp.gov.tm/storage/file/8781b287d49dadcbdc0b4a98d2fe77ae.pdf
• Code of Administrative Offences of Turkmenistan, 29 August 2013, WIPO Lex record with the 2013 Russian text: https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/legislation/details/13824
• Government of Turkmenistan on ILO Convention No. 122 and the number of ratified conventions (2021): https://turkmenistan.gov.tm/en/post/53524/document-turkmenistans-ratification-convention-concerning-employment-policy-presented-ilo-director-general

This article is general occupational safety and health information prepared by the excodex editorial team. It does not replace the applicable legislation, standards, manufacturers' instructions or the assessment of a competent OSH professional or occupational physician.