Fiadynich: Government, Under Which Only Compulsory Labour Is Left For Citizens, Must Step Down

The authorities have nothing to report about to the nation on May 1, so the Day of Labour Solidarity is ignored in Belarus.

It has been said in an interview to charter97.org by the chairman of the Belarusian REP Trade Union (the Radio electronic Industry) Henadz Fiadynich.

– The International Workers' Solidarity Day, May 1, has not been marked in Belarus in a big way. What is the reason for, in fact, ignoring this holiday by the Belarusian authorities, to your mind?

– It has been done as the authorities have nothing to report about today. All over the world May 1 is considered a holiday of labour. And in Belarus the authorities have brought their citizens to the situation when only a labour is left for them, and no holiday.

It is a labour that is not paid timely, which is paid very poorly, and safety regulations are not observed often. That’s what a modern Belarus is, and that’s what May 1 in our country is.

The official Trade Union Federation held sports events on May 1 in the Gorky Park, and they say that they had spent lots of money on that. So what could be said about any concrete enterprise? The authorities of the “socially oriented, people-first” state have no money or desire left to celebrate the labour holiday.

That is why I believe that the authorities have consciously taken it upon themselves to downplay celebrations of May 1, planning nothing and explaining that by Easter, in order to continue concealing the problems of underemployment and occupational safety level.

– Will the tendency of scaling down May Day continued in the future?

– One could say that the position of the authorities and the official Trade Union Federation on ignoring May Day are the same. Their desire to ignore this holiday and not to show all difficulties is unambiguous.

And people have more and more problems: backdates wages, impoverishment of people in general.

The authorities are not interested in a realistic evaluation of the situation. They can only pretend to be “consulting” at their “congress”, where only having pass entries people could enter.

The authorities who have reduced the country to such a state must step down, there is no doubt. It would be natural for any normal state: the authorities have not fulfilled any commitments over the last five-year period. That is why they must resign and give way to those who could work and offer real mechanisms of getting out of the crisis.