People’s Outrage With “Social Parasites” Decree Reached Breaking Point

No other country in the world has such an absurd law, when they deprive people of work and demand money for that.

Legal inspector of the Radio-Electronic Industry Workers’ Trade Union in Homel region Leanid Sudalenka has commented on the new decree of Lukashenka on toughening the norms of the “social parasites” decree #3, to praca-by.info.

It has been reported by the press-center of the state leader, that the ruler has inked the Decree#1, which provides for making amendments to the Decree #3 “On Prevention of Social Parasitism”, on January 12.

Legal inspector of the Radio-Electronic Industry Workers’ Trade Union in Homel region Leanid Sudalenka is convinced that the people’s outrage with the “social parasites” decree has reached the breaking point. According to him, 10-15 people come round to the trade union’s office every day, to submit complaints against the actions of the tax inspectorates. Toughening the norms of the decree, in his opinion, will only escalate the situation.

– A young mom visited our office today – she had just given birth to a baby, and they demand she should pay the fee. Meanwhile, it is stated in the Decree black on white that parents of children under 7 are released from payment of the fee. They send notifications to everyone and his dog. For example, to my son who served in the army as a conscript soldier in 2015. However, I am a lawyer, so I didn’t run anywhere but asked them to apologize to my family for their incompetence, and directed them to the regional military enlistment office to find information about my son. There was a case when a woman had complicated pregnancy and she couldn’t work, and another one, who couldn’t find a job in the district center for a long time. The people’s outrage has reached the breaking point, and now Lukashenka adopts these draconic amendments, there’s no other name for them.

If previously, a father and a mother who don’t work were released from payment of the fee if they had at least one child under 7 in the family (I released one father from that fee under this very ground just yesterday), then today they set one more condition – such child or children should not attend kindergartens or schools. So they deprived the people of the only benefit they had. As for the unemployed officially registered in the employment bureaus – this is total horror. Previously, they were released from the fee payment unconditionally. Now it is possible only if they have had no violations, and it seems impossible not to violate anything there. For example, a person refused to collect waste paper or work in a collective farm, due to illness or something, and they put them off the record. Or the third option – a person was fired due to expiration of their labour contract, or just was laid-off – please pay 200 dollars. The state took away a citizen’s job and demands money for that. This is absurd. No country in the world has this,” – Leanid Sudalenka has said.

The trade union’s lawyer remains convinced that the decree should be abolished on an urgent basis as it has no sense. He has assured that the Radio-Electronic Industry Workers’ Trade Union will continue the campaign for the abolishment of the unfair anti-constitutional decree.

– The decree contradicts the Constitution, its article related to the right to work and the right not to be subjected to forced labor, – Leanid Sudalenka has added.

According to the lawyer, the government should focus its attention on the fight against unemployment rather than the unemployed.

– The unemployment benefit amounts to Bn 20, and is accompanied with a huge pile of problems. The labour market today offers salaries of no higher than Bn 3-4- thousand. People often are not interested in working for such crummy salaries because it is impossible to live on them. Therefore, our authorities need to create jobs and attract investments into the country, to fight against unemployment and low wages, not the unemployed, – the trade union’s lawyer has summarized.