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

The main OSH law is the Law of the Republic of Uzbekistan "On Labour Protection" (Mehnatni muhofaza qilish to'g'risida), No. ZRU-410 of 22 September 2016, read together with Chapter 20 of the Labour Code of 28 October 2022, in force since 30 April 2023. It is enforced by the State Labour Inspectorate of the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction; hazardous industrial, mining and energy facilities are also supervised by specialised state inspectorates.

Short answer

• Main law: Law No. ZRU-410 of 2016 (a new edition of the 1993 Labour Protection Law), in force since 24 December 2016, last amended 18 May 2022.
• Labour Code: Chapter 20 "Labour protection" (Arts. 351 to 366) adds the duty to run an OSH management system and the right to refuse dangerous work.
• Main enforcer: the State Labour Inspectorate (Davlat mehnat inspeksiyasi) of the Ministry of Employment and Poverty Reduction (Kambag'allikni qisqartirish va bandlik vazirligi), through state technical labour inspectors (Labour Code Arts. 534 to 536; Law ZRU-410, Art. 28).
• Special enforcers: the Committee for Industrial, Radiation and Nuclear Safety under the Cabinet of Ministers (hazardous production facilities), the mining and geology inspectorate, Uzenergoinspeksiya (electrical and energy installations), the sanitary-epidemiological committee of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Emergency Situations (fire).
• Detailed rules: Cabinet of Ministers (CM) resolutions, notably No. 454 of 2025 (OSH management system), No. 819 of 2025 (OSH service and training) and No. 505 of 2026 (accidents).

The legal hierarchy an employer works with

Texts are published in Uzbek; official Russian versions exist for many acts, and the national legislation database lex.uz is the reliable place to check the current consolidated text. The Labour Protection Law itself still names the former Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations; the Labour Code, amended in 2025, uses the current name.

What the inspectors can do

State technical labour inspectors may demand documents, explanations and information from managers, carry out or take part in special accident investigations, give binding written orders to remove breaches, ban non-compliant personal and collective protective equipment, impose administrative penalties on guilty persons, suspend an organisation's activity or the use of equipment that threatens workers' life or health, and sit on acceptance commissions for new or rebuilt facilities (Law ZRU-410, Art. 28). They carry out planned and unscheduled inspections in the procedure set by legislation (Labour Code, Art. 536). Their decisions can be appealed to a higher inspectorate or to court (Art. 537), and obstructing them is prohibited (Art. 538).

Trade unions are special subjects of public control: they may enter the workplaces of the workers they represent, send employers representations that must be considered, propose that work be stopped when life or health is threatened and ask the authorities to hold persons liable for hiding accidents (Labour Code, Art. 540). Unions and elected OSH representatives also take part in accident investigations (Law ZRU-410, Art. 31). The prosecutor's office supervises compliance with labour law as with all other laws (Labour Code, Art. 534).

Practical checklist for a new employer or contractor

1. Read Law ZRU-410 and Labour Code Chapter 20 in the current consolidated version on lex.uz.
2. Find out whether any site is a hazardous production facility; if so, the industrial safety law and the Committee's rules apply as well.
3. Set up the OSH service required by the 2025 staffing norms and adopt an OSH management system regulation.
4. Prepare to use the "Xavfsiz mehnat" electronic system, through which accidents are notified from 1 December 2026.
5. Check the occupational risk class of the business, which drives insurance, staffing and some training duties.

Related on excodex

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

Standards and further reading

• Law No. ZRU-410 of 22 September 2016 "On Labour Protection" (new edition): https://lex.uz/docs/3031427
• Labour Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan, approved by Law No. ZRU-798 of 28 October 2022: https://lex.uz/docs/6257288
• Law No. ZRU-57 of 28 September 2006 "On industrial safety of hazardous production facilities": https://lex.uz/ru/docs/1061184
• Law No. ZRU-556 of 27 August 2019 ratifying ILO Convention No. 81: https://lex.uz/ru/docs/4490211
• Law No. ZRU-969 of 2 October 2024 ratifying ILO Convention No. 155: https://lex.uz/ru/docs/7125655
• Law No. ZRU-693 of 4 June 2021 ratifying ILO Convention No. 187: https://lex.uz/ru/docs/5443936

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.