Decision on the fifth item on the agenda: Reports of the Committee on Freedom of Association

The Governing Body approved the following recommendations of the Committee on Freedom of Association, as set out in paragraph 26 of the report:

(a) the Committee once again urges the Government to provide information in respect of the steps taken to ensure the immediate registration of: (i) the primary-level organizations that were the subject of the complaint; (ii) REWU primary organizations in Mogilev, Gomel and Vitebsk; it further once again urges the Government to ensure that the workers in those enterprises where the primary-level organizations have been wound down are rapidly and duly informed of their right to form and join organizations of their own choosing without interference and that the registration of any such newly created organization is rapidly effectuated; the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect; it also requests the complainant organizations to provide all relevant information in this regard;

(b) with regard to the situation at “Granit” enterprise, the Committee expects that: (i) the Belarusian Independent Trade Union (BITU) primary trade union will be registered without delay; (ii) the tripartite Council will examine the cases of dismissal of Mr Stakhaevich, Mr Karyshev and Mr Pavlovski and should it be found that they were dismissed for their activities in the BITU primary trade union, the Government will take the necessary measures to ensure their reinstatement; if reinstatement is not possible for objective and compelling reasons, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the workers concerned are paid an adequate compensation which would represent a sufficiently dissuasive sanction for anti-union discrimination; the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect;

(c) the Committee requests the Government to examine the issue of effective protection against acts of anti-union discrimination in law and in practice in the framework of the tripartite Council and to keep it informed of the outcome;

(d) the Committee expects that the Government will take all necessary measures in order to ensure that the relevant authorities abstain from any action that would prevent trade unions and their representatives from exercising their right to express opinions on the situation of trade union rights in the country or Government’s economic and social policies; it requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken to that effect;

(e) the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to amend Presidential Decree No. 2 in consultation with the social partners, so as to ensure that the right to organize is effectively guaranteed;

(f) the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to amend Decree No. 24 so that national workers’ and employers’ organizations may receive assistance, even financial, from international workers’ and employers’ organizations in pursuit of their legitimate aims, including through means of strikes; it requests the Government to keep it informed of any measure taken in this respect;

(g) the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to immediately amend the Law on Mass Activities so as to bring it in line with the right of employers’ and workers’ organizations to organize their activities;

(h) the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of all developments in respect of legislative initiatives affecting trade union rights;

(i) the Committee once again requests the Government to ensure that an independent investigation into all outstanding allegations of interference and pressure is carried out without delay by a body having the confidence of all parties concerned; if it is found that the above alleged measures were taken against trade unionists for having exercised their trade union rights or their participation in legitimate trade union activities, the Committee expects that those who suffered from anti-union measures will be fully compensated and that appropriate instructions will be given to the relevant authorities so as to avoid any recurrence of such acts;

(j) the Committee continues to urge the Government to pursue more vigorously, on the one hand, the instructions to be given to enterprises in a more systematic and accelerated manner 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 complaints of interference and anti-union discrimination shall be thoroughly investigated. The Committee further requests the Government to ensure an independent investigation into all alleged instances of interference and anti-union discrimination at “Polymir”, “Grodno Azot”, “Frebor”, “Belarusneft-Osobino”, “Avtopark No. 1”, “Mogilev ZIV”, “Belaeronavigatsia”, “MLZ Universal”, “Belaruskaliy” and “Granit” companies, and at the Brest State Pedagogical University;

(k) the Committee requests the Government to provide its observations on the BITU allegation concerning the detention of the Chairperson of its Soligorsk regional organization;

(l) the Committee requests the Government to conduct independent investigations into the alleged cases of refusal to hold pickets and meetings and to bring the attention of the relevant authorities to the right of workers to peaceful demonstration to defend their occupational interests;

(m) the Committee requests the Government to indicate the measures taken to implement the recommendations made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers;

(n) the Committee requests the Government to examine the cases of alleged denial of facilities to trade unions and its leaders with a view to determining the violations of the legislation or any agreement concluded in this respect, and to take the necessary measures of redress; furthermore, when following this examination, it has been determined that no agreement with regard to allocation of premises had been concluded between a union and an employer, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures in order to encourage the parties to find a mutually acceptable solution; the Committee requests the Government to keep it informed in this respect;

(o) the Committee urges the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure that freedom of association is fully and effectively guaranteed in law and in practice and expects that the Government will intensify its cooperation with the Office, as well as social dialogue with all partners, including the trade unions outside of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FPB), to implement without delay all the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry and ensure that any legislative changes will conform to this objective.

The Governing Body approved the 369th Report of the Committee on Freedom of Association in its entirety.

(Document GB.318/INS/5/2, paragraph 26.)

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