EUROPEAN TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION (ETUC) EXPRESSED ITS SOLIDARITY SUPPORT TO "GRANITE" WORKERS AND BKDP
The General Secretary of European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the Pan-European Regional Council (PERC) Bernadette Ségol has made a statement on behalf of the 105 million workers from 46 countries of Europe about the situation in the RUPP "Granite" and addressed the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to put an end to imposing pressure on workers from Mikashevichi.
The General Secretary of European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the Pan-European Regional Council (PERC) Bernadette Ségol has made a statement on behalf of the 105 million workers from 46 countries of Europe about the situation in the RUPP "Granite" and addressed the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to put an end to imposing pressure on workers from Mikashevichi.
"The working people of Eastern Europe, led by trade unions, have initiated and are continuing the process of changes, which opened a new chapter in the history of Europe" - said Bernadette Ségol. “Aspiration for decent and fair work and for a democratic society can be suppressed, but those who are trying to do this will never be the winners ".
In Belarus, under the totalitarian rule of Alexander Lukashenko, the working people say - "Enough!" - and start joining independent trade unions, the ETUC statement stresses.
600 workers of RUPP "Granite" company in Mikashevichi openly declared its disaffiliation from the official trade union structure and set up a new independent organization within the framework of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), affiliate of Pan-European Regional Council (PERC) of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). And, as it is usually expected under the dictatorial regime, the first step of the authorities was to take revenge. After substituting the employer they have dismissed trade union leaders of the new union (among them were Oleg Stahaevich and Lyudmila Litvinka) and began intimidating its members by manipulating the process of certifying workers’ professional skills. The authorities having denied the union have violated one of the 12 recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which Belarus has failed to implement till now. For many years, Belarus has been accuses by the specialized ILO bodies in violation of a number of fundamental rights and international standards even despite the fact that the EU has imposed restrictions on its access to the System of Preferences (GSP +).
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and PERC call on their member organizations, trade unionists and human rights activists to join the campaign of solidarity with the workers RUPP "Granite" company workers.
| 29.02.2012 |
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