New salary reforms aim to standardize public sector wages across Uzbekistan

The country is transitioning to a unified system for determining the salaries of civil servants. As we earlier reported, this reform is outlined in a resolution adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers on April 8.

According to the resolution, mechanisms allowing civil servants to receive additional payments from the state budget, off-budget sources, and state-targeted funds are expected to be abolished.

So, what do these changes mean, what reforms are expected, and what is the purpose behind them? Kun.uz addressed these questions to the press service of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

According to the Ministry, the current wage system for employees of state authorities, national executive bodies, and local government entities suffers from several shortcomings:

• Salaries vary widely among employees;
• Off-budget funds are used to provide various additional payments and bonuses;
• Regulatory and legal frameworks in the sector are outdated;
• The share of base salaries in the total wage fund is low;
• Local government employees receive differing bonuses from additional sources within local budgets.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the “comprehensive reform” of the civil service wage system aims to achieve the following:

• Introduce a unified, transparent, and fair wage system across all ministries and agencies;
• Establish job categories based on the nature and complexity of duties and responsibilities;
• Standardize wage systems and funding sources across government bodies (all salaries to be paid exclusively from the state budget);
• Prohibit the use of off-budget funds for wage-related expenses;
• Introduce internationally recognized standards for new tariff coefficients, rank levels, key performance-based bonuses (KPI), and annual bonuses for civil servants.

As part of the implementation, a draft legal document is expected to be developed by September.

Additionally, a procedure for reducing the number of off-budget fund accounts held by ministries and agencies will also be outlined.