The strikes were spontaneous, continuing a trend of labor rights actions that officials have termed “illegal,” and which experts say would have been virtually impossible to organize through legal channels. The government of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has introduced several amendments to the Labor Code over the past few years, ostensibly aiming to protect workers’ rights and improve collective bargaining power. A repressive climateOn paper, trade unions serve as the primary institution by which workers’ rights are protected. He said:They [workers] tried using the trade union to refuse the duties of those two extra roles, and they were fired for it. According to Kosshygulov, this restriction has proven to be one of the most significant obstacles to protecting workers’ labor rights.