Entrepreneurs Found Trade Union

On Sunday representatives of the small-size business gathered in Vitebsk. The meeting became a founding conference of “Self-Employment” nation-wide trade union. According to Viktar Kryval, businessman from Minsk region, about 50 delegates from all over the country participated in the founding conference. The delegates had been previously elected by regional conferences. The new trade union will defend the economic interests of small businessmen and their social rights. According to Kryval, the entrepreneurs are going to fight for revision of presidential decree # 760, which restricts employment norms from January 1st, 2008. As a consequence of the restrictions, many people employed by entrepreneurs will lose their jobs. The participants of the founding conference believe, the presidential decree will increase unemployment rates in the country. Besides that, it contradicts the international obligations of Belarus in the sphere of labor legislation. Vitebsk activist Iryna Yaskevich is elected the leader of the trade union.