Fiadynich: We'll Suggest Restoration Of Travel Ban List For Belarusian Officials

The REP trade union is preparing a response to the persecution of its activists.

Leader of the Belarusian trade union REP Henadz Fiadynich gave his assessment to the meeting between the representatives of the Government of Belarus and the joint mission of the International Confederation of Labor (ITUC) and the Global Union IndustriAll.

- Both sides expressed their problems, and representatives of the Belarusian government pretended to listen. But at the same time, the session of the international labor conference, which will be held in June in Geneva, caused the greatest concern of the Belarusian side. Representatives of the government made a lot of promises - it is clear that the upcoming session worries the official Minsk, praca-by.info writes.

The leader of the independent trade union did not ignore the constant in-depth and personal searches that trade union activists are constantly exposed to when crossing the border:

- The Deputy Minister of Labor announced that the criminal "trade union case" is purely economic. But I read out an extract from a very fresh document: "Examined pants, blouse, shoes, bags, stripped naked." This was done with the deputy chairman of the REP trade union Zinaida Mikhniuk at the Belarusian customs, when the woman was returning after visiting her daughter in Poland. Is this also an economic matter? A silent scene followed.

Nevertheless, Henadz Fiadynich does not believe that the meeting was completely useless:

- Let's see how the government realizes its promises in practice. I voiced the proposal for the implementation of Decree # 1: all job seekers are given a minimum consumer budget of 305 rubles. Do a joint project with the European Union - let it help in a good deed. And to employ people for the sake of formality is a dead end.

Henadz Fiadynich doesn't know why the meeting with the Deputy Foreign Minister was canceled at the last moment, but assumes that the official followed the order "from the above":

- First, consent is given, and then the Deputy Foreign Minister appears to have "urgent" business? Diplomats do not do this.

Henadz Fiadynich also told about the actions planned by the REP:

- At the nearest BKDP Council we will propose to abstain from participating in the work of the National Council for Social and Labor Affairs. On April 23 at the Presidium of the REP we will formulate the official position of our trade union. Moreover, we will offer the ITUC, the Global Union IndustriAll and the European Union to restore the list of the officials, banned from entering the EU.