Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2008, published 98th ILC session (2009)

Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98) - Belarus (Ratification: 1956)

The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the measures taken to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, the conclusions of the Committee on Freedom of Association (352nd Report, approved by the Governing Body at its 303rd Session) and the discussion that took place in the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2008. The Committee also takes note of the seminar on anti-union discrimination which was held in Belarus in June 2008, with the participation of ILO representatives and tripartite constituents. The Committee further notes the comments made by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) on the application of the Convention in law and in practice in a communication dated 29 August 2008.

The Committee recalls that all of its outstanding comments have raised issues directly relating to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.

Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention. In its previous comments, the Committee had requested the Government to indicate the measures taken to review and redress all complaints of anti-union discrimination that had been raised in the complaint filed under article 26 of the ILO Constitution or had come to light in the examination of the follow-up given by the Government to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry. The Committee had also requested the Government to ensure an independent investigation into the alleged instances of interference and anti-union discrimination at the “Mogilev ZIV” and “Avtopark No. 1” suffered by the primary trade union affiliated to the Radio and Electronic Workers’ Union (REWU) and its members and to ensure that the rights of workers who had suffered anti-union discrimination in these enterprises were fully redressed. It had further asked the Government to indicate whether the officials of the Belarusian Free Trade Union (BFTU) were allowed access to the enterprise to meet their members and to provide information on the outcome of the discussion at the level of the Council for the Improvement of Legislation in Social and Labour Spheres of the case concerning the “Belshina” enterprise. Finally, it had urged the Government to rapidly adopt new, improved mechanisms and procedures to ensure effective protection against all types of anti-union discrimination and to indicate the progress made in this regard.

The Committee regrets that the information provided by the Government is once again limited to the indication that the current legal framework provides for adequate measures to protect citizens from acts of anti-union discrimination, that enterprise labour commissions can examine disputes involving allegations of anti-union discrimination and that aggrieved workers can have recourse to the courts according to the procedures provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure. According to the Government, in 2007, no cases involving allegations of anti-union discrimination were lodged with the courts. The Committee notes the Government’s indication concerning the seminar on anti-union discrimination organized in June 2008 with the participation of representatives of employers’ organizations, trade unions, including those not affiliated to the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, representatives of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, judges and prosecutors, representatives of the ILO, the ITUC and of the International Organisation of Employers. The Government further states that it will continue its cooperation with the ILO and to that effect, another tripartite seminar on the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry is under preparation.

The Committee notes with regret the new ITUC comments on of anti-union discrimination against members of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union (BITU) at “Polymir” company and the leaders of the BFTU at the Brest State Pedagogical University and the allegation of denial of access to workplace (“Belaruskaliy”) to the leader of the BITU, as well as a number of comments of interference, anti-union pressure and anti-union dismissals submitted by the BITU and the REWU to the Committee on Freedom of Association.

The Committee recalls that it had previously noted the Government’s statement that the Council for the Improvement of Legislation in the Social and Labour Spheres reviewed complaints concerning specific enterprises. The Committee notes, however, from the recent report of the Committee on Freedom of Association, that the Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (CDTU) considers that this Council fails to play an effective role in eliminating violations of trade union rights. 

In the light of the above, the Committee considers that the measures taken so far by the Government to ensure the full application of Articles 1, 2 and 3 of the Convention are insufficient. In these circumstances, the Committee once again urges the Government to pursue vigorously, on the one hand, the instructions to be given to enterprises so as to ensure that enterprise managers do not interfere in the internal affairs of trade unions and, on the other, instructions to the Prosecutor-General, Minister of Justice and court administrators that all complaints of interference and anti-union discrimination are thoroughly investigated.

The Committee further requests the Government to provide its observations on the comments submitted by the ITUC and to carry out independent investigations into all alleged instances of interference and anti-union discrimination and to keep it informed in this respect. It further reiterates its request to immediately redress the damages suffered from anti-union discrimination by those workers mentioned in the complaint filed under article 26 of the ILO Constitution, as well as those cases that had come to light in the examination of the follow-up given by the Government to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the developments in this respect.