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Representative of the MTZ Strike Committee: Belarusian Workers Are Preparing for Something Big

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Representative of the MTZ Strike Committee: Belarusian Workers Are Preparing for Something Big
Siarhei Dyleuski
Photo: CHARTER97.ORG

The day will come, and the factories will stand up.

One of the leaders of the strike committee of the Minsk Tractor Plant (MTZ) Siarhei Dyleuski spoke with the website Charter97.org about the mood among Belarusian workers after the adoption of sectoral sanctions by the European Union.

- Let's assess the state of the Belarusian industry before the introduction of sectoral sanctions by the EU. In what state have we come to this point?

- The Belarusian industry has been in decline for more than one year, as we all know. If we analyze both the sales markets and the level of the economy, then they slid down even before the introduction of sanctions. The regime itself did everything to make things worse.

- The main blow of the sanctions will fall on Belaruskali and oil refining. Also, the United States announced joining the EU sectoral sanctions. Will the consequences be serious?

- Yes, they will be quite serious. As we know, oil refining is carried out at the expense of Russian oil, which is refined to Belarus, and then goes to Europe. This stream is blocked. Russia, let's say, reacted to this situation and is already stopping oil supplies.

The same is true for potash fertilizers. With the end of trade, there will simply be nowhere to sell them. Undoubtedly, the blow from the sanctions will be felt. This will affect the entire industry, not only oil or potash fertilizers but also, for example, engineering or machine tool production.

- Some experts compare sanctions with surgery. Are the workers ready to endure this "surgery" for changes to take place in Belarus?

- I will speak for the workers with whom I communicate closely. These are people from my enterprise, as well as others who are members of the Belarusian Workers' Association. People are really ready for the imposition of sanctions because, even if they are afraid to act somewhere on their own, they are just waiting for Europe to help, when there will be an impetus for action. So the Belarusian hard workers are quite positive about this situation.

- Recently, there have been a lot of reports about simply unbearable working conditions at Belarusian enterprises. The workshops are unbearably hot. Is it really so difficult for the flagships of the industry to install air conditioners and make working conditions sane?

- At the moment, yes, it is difficult. This is a huge cost because the bureaucratic machine works so hardly and unproductively. Even if, for example, it becomes necessary to put an air fan at the workplace, then this requires changes in the layout of the workshop, department, technological process, and so on. You can't just put it on.

For many years, it was easier for the state to simply keep silent about the situation and not pay attention to it. Now we see a positive trend - people themselves began to pay attention to the current situation through the media and also force the leaders of some enterprises to take action.

- It is also worth noting a large number of emergencies that have begun to occur: the deaths of workers at Belaruskali, fires, equipment failures. Are these all coincidences or patterns?

- This is a pattern that has always been and remains now. Just yesterday there was news that a worker at Atlant had died on the assembly line. Such things always happened, but it was not customary to talk about it, it was always hushed up.

These are inadequate working conditions, non-observance of safety precautions, which even the managers of enterprises ignored when they gave tasks to workers. The rules are simply ignored, and the worker is forced to do his job with threats of reprisals - deprivation of bonuses, dismissal, and so on.

- You are in constant contact with workers. What moods prevail among them?

- Fatigue, fatigue, fatigue... As well as aggression, anger at the country's leadership. To be frank, people are waiting for some kind of beginning of sanctions, preparing for something more than just a tacit protest. They are slowly beginning to incline to the fact that the strike is necessary to express their disagreement with the current regime, working conditions, and the economic situation in the country.

- What ways out of the current situation in Belarus do you see? Will the workers still have their say?

- I am sure that the workers will have a say and that day will come when the factories will cease. The workers will demand respect for their rights. We all understand that, with the current leadership and the authorities, it is impossible to enforce our rights.

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