The state authorities continue to refuse to re-register trade unions. They also embark on de-registration of trade unions based on frivolous claims from persons without capacity and/or without recourse to the constitution and governance structures of the union. The failure to register unions allows companies in which they operate to apply to courts to seek decisions to suspend the unions’ activities.
This was the case of the Sectoral Fuel and Energy Workers’ Union (SFEWU) and its branches. In 2019, two companies where the SFEWU operates – West Oil Software Ltd and БТК Ltd – challenged the legal status of the SFEWU before the Ministry of Justice and in September 2020 before the Akimat of the city of Shymkent, seeking an order to suspend the SFEWU’s activities. In January 2021, the authorities de-registered the branch of the SFEWU in the Kyzylordy region, grounding the decision on a de-registration request made by an ex-chairman, D. A. Kembilov.
The de-registration decision was taken regardless of the fact that such a de-registration request would require a decision by the collective trade union body, i.e., the branch members’ conference, subject to approval by the union’s council and the fact that the term of Kembilov as chairman had expired.
The unlawful de-registration decision against the SFEWU Kyzylordy branch has in turn hampered the legal situation of the SFEWU in its dispute with West Oil Software Ltd and БТК Ltd. In February 2021 the Specialised Interdistrict Economic Court of Shymkent found the SFEWU legal status unconfirmed due to de-registration of the Kyzylordy branch. According to the law, a sectoral trade union must have at least nine registered branch trade unions. Consequently, the court suspended the SFEWU’s activities for six months. This decision was maintained by the appellate court and entered into force on 29 April 2021. All activities of the SFEWU had to stop immediately, under the threat of criminal prosecution of the leaders under Article 430 of the criminal code.
It was only in August 2021, after two appeals, that the appeal court declared the de-registration decision for the SFEWU branch unlawful, allowing the SFEWU to take steps to re-register the branch structure and to apply for waiver of its suspension. However, due to a cumbersome registration procedure, the re-registration of the Kyzylordy branch of the SFEWU has not yet taken place, and it is therefore not known when the registration may be completed.