Abstract
Abstract Historically, labour legislation in Central Asian countries was influenced by the Soviet legacy and Russian Labour Law tradition. The situation began to change in 2015 when Kazakhstan became the first state to significantly liberalize the legislative framework around labour relations due to high pressure from lobbyist business groups. In 2016, 2023, and 2024, labour laws were reformed in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan in less liberal ways. The political landscape in each country determines the level of freedom of trade unions and the right to strike. The governments have been subjected to harsh criticism by the ILO and other international institutions for serious violations of labour rights, especially in the field of freedom of association and forced labour. Comparative legal analysis shows that the labour relations framework in Central Asia noticeably falls behind international labour standards. The chapter covers an analysis of reforms in labour legislation and their compliance with ILO instruments, focusing on freedom of association, collective bargaining systems, collective labour dispute resolution, prohibition of discrimination in employment, and labour inspection systems, allowing for an evaluation of the possible impacts of political changes in Central Asian states on the transformation of labour law from a comparative perspective.