Employees in Salihorsk ordered to give money for City Foundation Day

Human rights defenders in Salihorsk receive complaints from workers about mandatory donations on occasion of the City Foundation Day.

Salihorsk residents got used to mandatory donations for the construction of Orthodox churches and ice skating rinks, let alone collecting money from parents in schools. But this is the first time when workers have been ordered to make donations for the City Foundation Day, Viasna human rights centre reports.

“People are angry with the authorities for such actions. It is done mandatory at the order of officials. It depends on managers of a particular company how the order is performed. Some use pressure and threats, some use the powerful argument 'you understand everything yourself'. The size of donations depends on a company and a position of an employee. It is actually one more tax, but no one can control it and see how the collected money is spent. We also should take into account the difficult economic situation in the country. People regard it as a mockery. It's like feast in the time of plague,” Leanid Markhotka from the Belarusian Helsinki Committee in Salihorsk says.

Human rights defenders from the BHC Salihorsk department call on people to report about mandatory donations. They promise to provide legal assistance to the people who faced problems due to their refusal to obey illegal orders of officials and employers.