'Hands Off!': Activists In Kyiv Support Belarusian Independent Trade Union REP

Independent trade unions of Ukraine picketed the Belarusian Embassy.

Today, on April 18, leaders and activists of the Independent Trade Union Of Miners of Ukraine (NPGU) and the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU) picketed the Belarusian Embassy to protest against the pressure on the independent trade unions in our country, informs the website of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union belnp.org.

Leader of the independent trade unions of Ukraine Mikhailo Volynets made a speech in front of the Embassy. He recalled that the KVPU and NPGU together with the international trade union community once protected the Belarusian independent trade unions and then, because of violation of labor and trade union rights, trade and economic sanctions were imposed against Belarus.

- Today we once again express our solidarity with our trade-union brothers and sisters in Belarus. We are outraged that the Belarusian authorities are putting pressure on the independent trade unions, interfering with their activities. At the same time, we see that the rights of ordinary Belarusian workers are being violated and they need real protection. Today, Ukrainian trade unionists are holding an action near the Belarusian Embassy and urge the Belarusian authorities to stop harassment of independent trade unions, respect workers' rights and comply with international norms, " - Volynets said.

It is noted that trade union activists together with the leader of the NPGU and KVPU called on the Belarusian authorities:

- to stop the persecution of independent trade unions in Belarus;

- to fulfill the international obligations of Belarus, in particular, the norms of Convention No. 87 of the International Labor Organization on freedom of association and protection of the right to organize in trade unions;

- to stop mass interrogations of ordinary members of the REP (more than 400 people have already been interrogated), and stop the criminal prosecution of union leaders Henadz Fiadynich and Ihar Komlik.

Important to note, the mission of representatives of two global trade union associations - the International Trade Union Confederation and the Global Union IndustriAll began its work in Minsk on Wednesday. Assistant Secretary General of IndustriALL Kemal Ӧzkan, outreach officer at IndustriALL Alexander Ivanov, Deputy Secretary General of the ITUC Yaap Wienen, and coordinator of the programs and campaigns of the ITUC-PERC in the CIS countries Anna Salnikova arrived in Belarus.

Among the issues that the mission plans to discuss in the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, there are forced labor in Belarus and discrimination of the IndustriALL membership organizations, independent trade unions in particular (Belarusian Independent Trade Union, Trade Union of the Radio-Electronic Industry Workers, Free Trade Union Of Metallurgists).