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A staff member at the Tashkent Publishing and Printing Technicum has filed a formal complaint alleging that the institution’s director, Nodira Toykulova, subjected her to sustained workplace pressure designed to force her resignation — including an unexplained pay cut, withheld bonus payments, disciplinary sanctions and the physical removal of her work equipment.
The complainant, identified only by the initials Ç.B., told the outlet Effect.uz that the difficulties began in March 2026, when she says she was directed by Toykulova to travel to banks, schools and other technicums to collect votes as part of an “Open Budget” project. The employee states she was compelled to carry out this work on the director’s instructions.
Holiday Cut Short, Then Discipline Imposed
According to the complaint, the employee’s annual leave was formally scheduled to run from 20 July to 2 September 2026, but she was ordered back to work from 15 August — a demand conveyed through phone calls and text messages. When she returned in September, she says she was told to find another job and submit a resignation letter.
That same month, a disciplinary reprimand was applied against her without explanation, accompanied by a series of written warnings. On 1 October — Teachers’ and Coaches’ Day, when bonuses are customarily paid — she received nothing. Within the same month, a formal order was issued reducing her monthly salary by 30 per cent.
The employee further alleges that Toykulova personally entered her office and removed a computer and chair that had been assigned for her use. She was also removed from the technicum’s internal Telegram groups.
Questions the Complaint Raises
Effect.uz, which published the complaint, has formally requested an official response from the technicum’s management on each of the specific allegations: the legal basis for recalling the employee during her leave; the grounds cited for the disciplinary reprimand and written warnings; whether the 30 per cent salary reduction was processed in accordance with legal procedure; and what justification was given for withholding the holiday bonus.
The publication also flagged the separate question of whether it is lawful for a state educational institution to deploy its staff to conduct vote-collection activities under a budget transparency initiative.
Effect.uz said it is prepared to publish responses from both the technicum’s leadership and the relevant labour authorities, and called on those authorities to conduct an inspection and issue a legal assessment of whether the employee’s labour rights have been violated. No response from the technicum or from labour oversight bodies had been published at the time of reporting.