Effect.uz editorial office received an appeal from employees of “Kapitalbank”, one of the major commercial banks in Uzbekistan. According to employees who have been working honestly and loyally in the banking system for many years, the “ABCD” evaluation system introduced by the bank management, which is not provided for by legislation, has actually turned into a tool for reducing employee salaries, exerting moral and psychological pressure on them, and forcing them out of their jobs.
One of the appealing employees — Umida Mahmudovna, deputy chief accountant of the Sergeli branch with 27 years of banking experience, and Nigina Ibragimova, senior auditor of the Internal Audit Department with a group II disability, stated that although the bank management reassured employees in their official notices in October 2025 by saying “This test is neither an IQ test nor an exam, and category ‘D’ is not a sentence, but a growth point,” in reality the situation took a completely different turn.
Despite the fact that the employees took the “ABCD” test and self-evaluation on October 27–29, 2025, the bank’s new Regulation “On the evaluation and categorization of employees” was approved on November 4, 2025, and applied retroactively in violation of legislation. The individual bonuses and allowances worth millions of sums that employees had received for years were canceled in a single day for those placed in category “D,” which means an outsider, lagging behind, or a stranger when translated from English. Meanwhile, the official conclusion issued by the Republican Trade Union clearly emphasized that the “ABCD” test does not exist at all in the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan and that this action by the bank is illegal.
These women working at the bank faced not only financial but also severe moral and psychological blows. It was also reported that after threatening and discriminatory treatment by bank consultant O. Lyndina and other officials, the health of the employees deteriorated sharply, and an ambulance was called to the workplace several times, resulting in employees developing severe hypertension, heart failure, and hypertensive crisis diseases. In addition, official sick leave certificates of Nigina Ibragimova, an employee with a group II disability who is preparing for a major spinal surgery, were ignored by the bank management.
Most regrettably, it was reported that bank representatives visited the neighborhood citizens' assemblies at the employees' places of residence, conducting inquiries regarding who they live with, who visits their homes, and their moral image, which is a blatant violation of Article 31 of the Constitution of the Republic of Uzbekistan (Inviolability of private life) and Article 176 of the Labor Code.
Employees who applied to the Mirzo Ulugbek Interdistrict Court for Civil Cases in search of justice faced unexpected obstacles there as well. Despite the court and the bank being notified that the employees' health had worsened and they were on sick leave, court hearings were held hastily without the participation of the plaintiffs and their lawyers, and the claims were dismissed. It was also emphasized that electronic sick leave certificates issued through the state's official portal my.gov.uz were ignored in court, while the bank's internal paper logs were prioritized.
Are actions of this kind against single mothers, women with disabilities, and those with 20–30 years of experience merely a labor dispute or a case of discrimination against local employees by foreign expats? Article 4 of the Labor Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan stipulates that any discrimination in the sphere of labor is strictly prohibited. We ask the Supreme Judicial Council, the General Prosecutor's Office, and the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Employment to provide a legal assessment of this ongoing situation.
To ensure the impartiality of the journalistic investigation, the Effect.uz editorial office is ready to cover the position of the second party — the management and responsible persons of “Kapitalbank” — and awaits their official response.
