New dismissals of independent trade union members in Babrujsk prepared

Three more workers of Babrujsk tractor parts and aggregates plant have received notices that contracts would not be prolonged with them.

On October 1 news came about dismissal of two activists who had taken part in the hunger strike of protest against “total lawlessness” at their plant. Contracts were not prolonged for maintenance persons Alyaksandr Varankin and Alyaksandr Hramyka, as they were members of the independent trade union. As charter97.org was told by the chairman of the Free Trade Union of Belarus in Babrujsk Mikhail Kavalkou, three more members of the organisation are to be the next. He is convinced that the authorities had set a task to the leadership of the plant to get rid of their organisation at any cost.

“Three more persons have received notifications for October 30, they were handed on September 18, but the reason is unknown. Aleh Shauchenka, Alyaksandr Byanasik and Mikalai Zhybul are to be fired soon for their membership in the independent trade union. By the way, Mikalai Zhybul should be mentioned separately. He had been working at the plant for 30 years, can you imagine this?

He had not been reproached on any occasion. A little more than two years and a half for his retirement age are left – and he is fired. The director took him to his office and said immediately – allegedly, “we are carrying out optimization” of the workforce number, so “you are dismissed.” It is an absolutely cynical statement in the context that the plant needs workers all the time, and ads about that are seen in the town on every lamppost.

They do not fire drunkards, absentees, they spat at Lukashenka’s Directive #1 on Stepping up measures of responsibility for labour discipline, when people are to be fired immediately when they are absent at the workplace. But the administration of the plant leaves these people, and hires people like them, or persons who had been sacked from other places three times for unfavourable reasons, and they say Zhybul, who had not any violations, that optimization is underway! It boggles the mind,” he said.