ILO may call to sanctions against Lukashenka

The International Labour Organization (ILO) may respond to the crackdown on Belarusian trade unions.

The Committee on Freedom of Association says about the deteriorating situation with trade union rights in Belarus.

The ILO report enlists all cases of pressure and discrimination of Belarusian independent trade unions, Zavtra Tvoyey Strany reports.

What consequences can ILO's critical remarks have for official Minsk? Alyaksandr Yarashuk, the chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, answers this question.

“The Belarusian authorities are playing with fire. They didn't believe for a long time that failure to fulfil ILO's recommendations could lead to serious problems. The first warning signal was in 2007, when the EU removed Belarus's trade preferences. The measure was taken following EU's monitoring on the basis of ILO's recommendations. We wouldn't like to have more problems that may appear due to unwillingness of the authorities to observe trade union rights. This year's situation develops in this way.”