Trade Unions Day in Tajikistan Date in the current year: October 24, 2024

Trade unions began to emerge in Tajikistan in the early 20th century. Their history can be traced back to 1917, when the country’s first trade union – the Committee of Workers and Employees of the Khujand railway station – was founded. However, it was during the Soviet era that the country’s trade union movement began to truly take shape. In April 1926, the First Congress of Trade Union Organizations was held in Stalinabad (now Dushanbe). At the Congress, the first Council of Trade Unions of the Tajik Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was elected.

By the moment the Tajik ASSR became the Tajik SSR in 1929, a total of 25,000 Tajikistani workers and employees were trade union members. The growth of the country’s trade unions continued throughout the following decades: Tajikistani trade unions had a total of 80,000 members by World War II and almost 1.5 million members by 1980.

In 1990, the Plenum of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions announced that all trade unions would become independent from government authorities as it became obvious that the dissolution of the Soviet Union was inevitable. The following year, the Federation of Trade Unions of Tajikistan was established at the annual Congress of Trade Unions of Tajikistan, beginning a new era in the history of the country’s trade union movement.

In the Soviet Union, trade unions were primarily concerned with social welfare such as free healthcare, temporary disability benefits, pensions, etc. Following the independence of Tajikistan, these functions were transferred to the newly established Social Insurance Fund, and trade unions were able to focus on the protection of employee rights and enforcement of labor laws.

As of 2019, the Federation of the Independent of Trade Unions of Tajikistan united over 10,000 individual trade unions and represented the interests of more than 1 million workers and employees across Tajikistan. The legal framework for the creation of new trade unions, the rights of trade unions, their relationship with state authorities, employers and other stakeholders, and other aspects of the functioning of trade unions are regulated by the Law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On Trade Unions” adopted in 2011.

Trade Unions Day was added to the list of holidays specified by the law of the Republic of Tajikistan “On Holidays” in October 2021. It is celebrated on October 24 to commemorate the meeting of President Emomali Rahmon with trade union representatives that took place in 2019. Like all professional holidays in Tajikistan, Trade Unions Day is not a non-working day unless it falls during a weekend.

Trade Unions Day should not be confused with Trade Union Action for Peace Day. The latter is celebrated on September 1 to highlight the role Tajikistani trade unions play in protecting employee rights and maintaining good employer-employee relationships.