Officials ban picket against poverty in Baranavičy

The Baranavičy city executive committee has not allowed local trade union activist Ryhor Hryk to hold a picket against poverty and low salaries of workers and pensioners, which he planned to stage on August 22. A written response signed by Deputy Mayor Dzmitry Kastsiukevich says that the stated purpose of the picket is not true.

“I would like to discuss with the city residents the rapidly increasing prices and wage cuts. I myself am a worker and often meet and talk with the same workers from other enterprises in the city who say that they earn a salary of 3-3.5 mln rubles and stress the deterioration of their current financial situation. But the official, referring to a publication in the official newspaper of the Baranavičy city executive committee, says that the information mentioned in the objective of the picket facts about the increase in prices, the reduction of income to the city budget, the impoverishment of the population does not correspond to reality. He argues that there is no poverty and deterioration of the financial situation in the city, but only stability and growing prosperity. It turns out that the workers are lying when they talk about their low salaries and the "truth" is written in the official newspaper of the city executive committee,” says Ryhor Hryk.

The civil society activist is convinced that the city executive committee banned the picket because they do not want an open discussion with the workers on the current socio-economic and financial situation, the growth of prices and the impoverishment of the people.