ICEM UPDATE

No. 60/2000
30 June 2000

The following is from the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM):

BELARUS: WORLD'S UNIONS CONDEMN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS

Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko must end his government's serious breaches of trade union rights, a world labour federation urged today.

In a fax to Lukashenko, the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) backed a union complaint to the UN's International Labour Organisation (ILO) against the Belarus government. The ICEM also pledged "pratical assistance" for any other measures considered necessary by ICEM-affiliated unions in Belarus.

Belarus is flouting its commitments under ILO Conventions 87 and 98, ICEM General Secretary Fred Higgs told Lukashenko. The country is fully signed up to both Conventions, which protect freedom of association and collective bargaining.

Higgs cited various breaches of "these fundamental human rights" in present-day Belarus:

• State and employer interference The head of the presidential administration ordered ministers to take control of union elections and to ensure that "constructive forces" are elected. Subsequently, enterprise directors and ministry officials have been trying to manipulate trade union conferences in order to ensure the election of pro-government chairpersons and delegates.
• Strike curbs The legal requirements for calling a strike are highly restrictive and take at least two months to complete. And the President is empowered to postpone any strike for another three months on the ill-defined grounds of a supposed threat to national security, public order, public health or the rights and freedom of other persons.
• Harassment of union members Employees have been dismissed for taking part in trade union activities or threatened with dismissal if they do not leave their trade union. The state security service, the KGB, has been observing trade union activities and has paid regular visits to trade unionists for "information purposes".
• Compulsory registration The state has made trade union registration obligatory and demands the immediate dissolution of non-registered unions. At the same time, the registration requirements are so cumbersome and complicated that in practice it has been virtually impossible for many trade union organisations to obtain registration.
• Barriers to organising A minimum of 500 founding members, representing the majority of regions of the Republic of Belarus and Minsk, is required in order to set up a nationwide trade union organisation. The list of names has to be provided to the Ministry of Justice. To establish a trade union in enterprises, offices, organisations and other places of work, membership by at least 10% of the entire workforce is required, with a minimum of ten people. This makes it virtually impossible to create new trade union organisations.

Higgs strongly urged Lukashenko to "withdraw the discriminatory measures without delay and to ensure respect for trade union rights in your country, both in law and in practice".

Bill Jordan, General Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, will be visiting Belarus on 11-12 July. Lukashenko should heed Jordan's recommendations, Higgs said, and should "implement them in full".

Individual ICEM UPDATE items can be supplied in other languages on request.

Our print magazines ICEM INFO and ICEM GLOBAL are available in Arabic, English, French, German, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.

Visit us on the Net at www.icem.org

ICEM
avenue Emile de Beco 109, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium. tel.+32.2.6262020 fax +32.2.6484316
E-mail: icem@geo2.poptel.org.uk

Editor: Ian Graham, Information Officer

Publisher: Fred Higgs, General Secretary.

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