At a press conference on March 12, Nilufar Amanniyazova, Head of the State Labor Inspection under the Ministry of Poverty Reduction and Employment, announced that 450 billion soms in wages have been recovered from Enter Engineering and 34 affiliated companies for over 12,700 employees. This amount covers 4-6 months of salaries for the workers.
Journalists raised questions about the long-standing issue of unpaid wages for months at companies owned by businessman Baxtiyor Fozilov, such as Enter Engineering, Eriell, and Saneg, which has been regularly reported in the media for 3-4 years, with the ministry allegedly failing to respond until recently. The activation of the Labor Inspection after the government announced plans in early March to sell Fozilov's assets to settle debts also drew scrutiny.
Ministry press secretary Gulnoza Alimova stated that the Labor Inspection had provided explanations regarding the mentioned organizations, but against the backdrop of “negative information,” this might seem insufficient to the public. She added that through the ministry's official channels, comments are regularly provided with details on the number of objects and inspection timelines.
According to Amanniyazova, inspections into wage arrears at Enter Engineering are conducted regularly, even if not covered by the media. In 2025, checks were also carried out based on employee appeals, with recovery measures and administrative liability imposed. She noted that recovery depends on each organization's financial condition, and if funds are unavailable, lawsuits are filed in court.
Deputy Minister of Poverty Reduction and Employment Ra’no Turdiboyeva said the State Labor Inspection, together with the Tax Committee, is conducting work to study wage recovery for citizens through a “risk analysis” system. She emphasized that the inspection has never been inactive, but cannot inspect any entrepreneur directly, as there is a set procedure for this.
Employees of Enter Engineering, Eriell, and Saneg (as well as many other companies linked to businessman Baxtiyor Fozilov) regularly report delays in salary payments for several months. Photos and videos of workers demanding wage payments have circulated online multiple times. In June 2024, Gazeta published stories from employees about such delays.
As previously reported, the Uzbek government plans to sell assets of Enter Engineering, Eriell, and Saneg to settle wage debts owed to 38,700 employees, as well as obligations to the budget and banks.
Source: www.gazeta.uz