Ideologists ganged up on independent trade unions

Ideologists of Minsk regional executive committee have called the independent trade unions “destructive forces.”

Primary organisations of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB) should resist attempts of “destructive influence” on citizens, especially on the part of independent trade unions. It has been stated by the head of the main directorate of ideology work of Minsk city executive committee Ruslan Trukhan on May 10 at the session of the regional executive committee in Minsk, BelaPAN informs.

As said by him, the most numerous primarily organization in Minsk is an organization of the independent trade union at Belaruskali enterprise. It united 4569 workers. “Over the last five months by the efforts of the administration of the enterprise, the number of its members has been decreased by 138 persons, and at the same time the number of Bekaruskali trade unions which are members of the FTUB is not so substantial and was just 65 persons more,” Trukhan said. It is a fault of the trade unions of the federation.

As said by Trukhan, over the last five month only four out of seven branches of the independent trade unions are left in the region.

“The social and political situation is stable and controllable in general, intermittent activities of unconstructive forces are observed in Barysau, Salihorsk, Maladzechna districts, in Zhodzina. The unconstructive forces are constantly in our field of vision,” he reported to the leadership of Minsk regional executive committee leaders.

In his turn, the chairman of the regional executive committee Barys Batura noted that people are turning to the places where “unorthodox approaches” for activities are used. “For how many years the independent trade union exists at Belaruskali? For 20 years. And no one is able to do something about that, to make them one order less,” Batura said. As said by him, this “huge independent” trade union is an example for others. “If the “normal” trade union would not take appropriate steps, such trade unions would emerge at other enterprises,” the official concluded.