Belarusian trade union divested a right for legal protest

Salihorsk district executive committee has prohibited for the Belarusian Independent Trade Union holding a picket against violation of trade union members’ rights planned on August 14.

The authorities have not allowed staging the protest neither in the central square of the town, as activists asked, nor in any other place. The chairman of the district executive committee Rymasheuski commissioned law-enforcing agencies to control execution of the decision of the authorities, praca-by.info informs.

- The decision of the district executive committee of Salihorsk to deny registration and ban the picket once again demonstrate that there is no social partnership in the country, and the authorities do not want to make any steps to correct violations of trade unions’ rights – said the chairman of the BITU Vasily Korabau. – Violation of the 87th Convention of the International Labour Organisation is obvious. The Belarusian authorities were charged with this violation before, and were stripped trade preferences for that. For 10 years the ILO continues a dialogue with Belarusian government on that. And things aren't moving. Our workers did not have a right for freedom of association, and they still do not have such a right. Independent trade unions could not take part in the social dialogue freely, to hold negotiations and conclude a collective wage agreement, and they still cannot do that now.

As the trade union leader said, many times he tried to talk to officials of the Labour and Social Defence Ministry, the agency which is in charge of implementing recommendations for curing breaches of trade unions’ rights. All his attempts were fruitless.