Political Scientist On ILO decision: They Could Make Orda Pay Financial Damages

Lukashenka sent “leeches” and “bloodsuckers” to represent workers' rights in Geneva.

The International Labor Organization adopted the resolution on Belarus. As a result, article 33 of the organization's charter will be applied to the country. The governments, representatives of employers of the ILO countries will reconsider their relations with the authorities of Belarus.

What will the Lukashenka regime face? The Charter97.org website talked about this with political scientist Dzmitry Balkunets.

— This is a very strong blow to the regime, which can be seen even in the faces of the people sent by Lukashenka to Geneva. Now they've run into it. I believe that those who went there, for example, Mikhail Orda, can get something very difficult in their biography. This reputational, and in the future, possibly, financial damage will be written off to him.

This is the second time such a decision has been made in the history of the organization. It had previously been adopted for Myanmar. The sanctions that apply under Article 33 allow for the most severe restrictions, up to and including a trade embargo. However, I note that no actions are prescribed by this article. Each country may introduce some of its own restrictions.

Another lever appeared to influence the actions of the regime. Including — to demand from it the release of all political prisoners. I am sure that if this happened, the ILO would notice it. Perhaps this measure would be abolished in the future. After all, it damages Belarus, the country's economy, and the creator of such a process is Lukashenka, who, by his actions, contributes to the fact that Belarus is increasingly falling into international isolation.

— From the side of the Lukashenka regime, the “chairman” of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus Mikhail Orda and the Minister of Labor and Social Protection Iryna Kastsevich took part in the conference. Do they have any right to speak on behalf of the Belarusian workers?

— These people who went there, and these are Orda and Kastsevich, voiced the agenda that was given to them. But they are completely out of touch with reality. These are people who, for a “crust of bread,” work out what Lukashenka instructs them to do. For them, the Lukashenka family is primary, and the people of Belarus are secondary.

They did not go there to represent the people of Belarus. No one elected Orda as any “leader of the trade union movement”. This is a person who has never worked anywhere, except for all sorts of BRYU and trade unions. He has no idea about workers, production, and so on. Orda doesn't live with people's problems. This is an ordinary mass-entertainer. Orda has no authority to represent and speak on behalf of the Belarusian workers. This is such a leech, a bloodsucker that simply parasitizes on the problems of workers.

In the future in Belarus, trade unions should defend the rights of workers, and not perform the function of an overseer, as is the case now. Trade unions and local branches are engaged in falsifying elections, organizing repressions against colleagues. They have turned into a punitive body, and do not protect the rights of workers.

— What might the application of Article 33 look like in practice?

— It is difficult to predict. I emphasize that solutions can be completely different, up to some powerful economic levers. Someone can continue trading, and someone will curtail economic relations.

Such an article also severely restricts investment. It is unlikely that anyone will seriously invest in a country that has such economic and political risks for doing business.

It is very important that the international trade unions supported this initiative. This is an important signal. The role of the international trade union movement in putting pressure on their governments can be significant. We can talk about demanding the introduction of more powerful sanctions against the Lukashenka regime, blocking his personal corporate accounts, flights and everything else.

The most banal story is that a member of Lukashenka's delegation will fly somewhere, and they will simply refuse to accept them at the airport. This can also be a way of measures and pressure from the workers who do not want to accept and serve the Belarusian government aircraft, conditionally, in the same Geneva. This will also be an effective position in order to beat the regime.

I emphasize that there should be complex work and the trade union movement of the world should help. Here unity and solidarity can be very important.

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