Belarus’ Federation of Trade Unions elected 80 delegates to Belarusian People’s Congress

The election of 80 delegates to the Belarusian People’s Congress – representatives of all regions of the country and almost all professions – became the main issue of the 9th (extraordinary) Congress of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB), held in Minsk on April 5th. The forum was attended by about 300 people from all over the country, including the Deputy Head of the President Administration, Igor Lutsky, and the Secretary of the Central Election Commission, Yelena Baldovskaya, sb.by reports.

Opening the congress, the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, a deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the eighth convocation, Mikhail Orda, stressed, “The election of delegates to the Belarusian People’s Congress – those who will represent and defend trade union principles in this supreme body of the people's power – is just one of such historical moments. This right has been given to us today at the legislative level, and this is yet another confirmation of the authority and significance of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus in society.”

According to Mikhail Orda, the principle of social justice should always be at the heart of all decisions important for society, “We all understand that it is not slogans, but real deeds to support and protect the workers that form the authority of trade unions. All issues are crucial here: from global to private, from improving legislation to helping a person in a specific difficult life situation. The most important thing for us is not to be indifferent to our people, to be sincerely concerned and committed to our work and our country.”

Mr. Orda also stated that these same qualities are among the main ones of the deputies proposed by trade unions to the Belarusian People’s Congress.

“Those who will be elected to this most important body of the people's power have very serious work ahead of them. It is necessary to consider and take part in solving the most important state tasks, such as working with people and labour collectives. You are trade union representatives, which means that all your activities in the Belarusian People’s Congress should be aimed at ensuring that the main trade union principle – social justice – is always at the heart of making all decisions important for society,” he emphasised.

According to the national trade union centre, “The election of delegates to the Belarusian People’s Congress is a historic moment for trade unions. This is another confirmation of the authority and significance of trade unions in society. And most importantly, it is an opportunity for trade unions to directly participate in the elaboration and adoption of strategic decisions on the development of the country.”

The FTUB notes that constant work in labour collectives allows the trade unions to see what issues and problems worry the nation, “Of course, the work of our delegates as part of the Belarusian People’s Congress will primarily be aimed at ensuring that the interests of workers and the principle of social justice are at the heart of making all decisions important for society.”

The Belarusian People’s Congress delegates elected by the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus represent all the industry-specific trade unions. Among them are leaders of trade union organisations of various levels, activists of the trade union movement, honoured workers whose labour achievements represent an example for the Belarusian youth, and heads of enterprises and organisations who act as responsible social partners and support trade union initiatives.

According to the national trade union centre, in recent years, the FTUB has done a lot of work on the development of social partnership, “Thanks to this, trade unions already have the opportunity to influence the elaboration and adoption of legislative decisions in the labour and social spheres. Moreover, it is upon the federation’s initiative that several legislative norms have been adopted expanding guarantees for workers, such as extending contracts for the maximum term for conscientious workers, providing a tax deduction for young specialists, increasing the amount of sick leave pay for several categories of workers, and many other issues. Efforts to protect the interests of workers in private labour disputes have also been significantly stepped up. For example, thanks to trade unions, about 170 illegally dismissed workers have been reinstated over the last three years. Moreover, at the request of the trade unions, over 46m Belarusian Roubles were returned to workers who had not been paid or illegally withheld by employers.”