Trade union activist unable to protect rights in court

On June 13, a court in Babruisk considered the lawsuit of a member of the Free Trade Union of Belarus, former employee of the TDiA plant (tractor parts and units), Viktar Osipau, whose employment contract was terminated on April 30. Despite petitions from the activist’s supervisor and his colleagues, Viktar Osipau has lost his job.

Mikhail Kavalkou, chairman of the independent trade union’s office at the plant, did not believe in the positive verdict: during the termination of the contact, the enterprise administration followed all the necessary legal norms. He says that the lawsuit was caused by moral reasons in order to once again raise the issue of dismissals over trade union membership.

Last year, the Babruisk plant administration refused to renew the contracts with three trade union members, Dzmitry Kurmaz, Dzmitry Sakalouski and Siarhei Pichuhou. This year, two more activists, Aliaksandr Mikita and Viktar Osipau, lost their jobs in the same way.