Trade unions in Belarus are legally independent under International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions since 1956. In the early twenty-first century, Belarusian trade unions were subject to harassment and intimidation from government authorities. New trade unions and local unions were created with help from the ProfSoyuz Online working group of the

Coordination Council Coordination Council may refer to: * Coordination Council (Afghanistan) * Coordination Council of Leftist Forces, a political alliance in Azerbaijan * Coordination Council (Belarus), an opposition council of Belarusians aiming to transfer power fr ...

during the 2020 Belarusian protests starting in mid-September 2020.

Twentieth century

Belarus ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 87, the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, and ILO Convention No. 98, the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949, in 1956.

Early twenty-first century

The

International Centre for Trade Union Rights The International Centre for Trade Union Rights (ICTUR) is "an organizing and campaigning body with the fundamental purpose of defending and improving the rights of trade unions and trade unionists throughout the world." ICTUR has accredited status ...

(ICTUR) stated that independent trade unions in Belarus had formal rights but difficulties in operating practically, with "considerable harassment and intimidation". An ILO commission visited Belarus in 2004 in response to concerns about unions' rights. The ICTU judged the problems to have been insufficiently resolved, commenting on police raids in 2017 against three people active in independent Belarusian trade unions. Around 2018, the biggest trade union coalitions in Belarus were the

Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus The Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus ( be, Федэрацыя прафсаюзаў Беларусі; russian: Федерация профсоюзов Беларуси) is a trade union centre in Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and ...

(FPB), with 4 million members, affiliated with the World Federation of Trade Unions, and the

Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions The Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (, ) is a confederation and center of trade unions in Belarus. It has 15,000 members in 4 affiliated unions and its headquarters are located in Minsk. Affiliates The following trade unions are ...

(BKDP), with 9000 members, affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation.

2020 protests

ProfSoyuz Online

In mid-September 2020, during the 2020 Belarusian protests that followed the

2020 Belarusian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Belarus on Sunday, 9 August 2020. Early voting began on 4 August and ran until 8 August. Incumbent Alexander Lukashenko was announced by the Central Election Commission (CEC) to have won a sixth term in offi ...

, the

created a working group, ProfSoyuz Online, for encouraging the creation of independent unions, along with seven other working groups. The online activities of the working group, founded by Marina Vorobei (russian: Марина Воробей), aim to provide Belarusians interested in creating trade union locals within the existing Belarusian legal framework with information, with help in contacting others with similar interests in creating locals, and with contacts to existing trade unions. The online service is run by human volunteers and chatbots. Volunteers provide help to people wishing to create their own locals or trade unions. , local unions had been created in affiliation with 25 independent unions in 60 companies in 20 towns with the help of ProfSoyuz Online. In Naftan, 2500 quit the government-associated trade union and 500 joined the independent one. In two factories in

Grodno Grodno (russian: Гродно, pl, Grodno; lt, Gardinas) or Hrodna ( be, Гродна ), is a city in western Belarus. The city is located on the Neman River, 300 km (186 mi) from Minsk, about 15 km (9 mi) from the Polish b ...

, ''Accent'' (russian: Акцент) and ''Conte'' (russian: Конте), all the employees quit the government union and created locals affiliated with independent trade unions. Doctors in Minsk created a health worker local union called "White Robes".

Independent unions

Marina Vorobei of ProfSoyuz Online stated in October 2020 that independent trade unions existing as of mid-October 2020 included the

Belarusian Independent Trade Union Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

(BNP), the

Belarus Free Trade Union The Belarus Free Trade Union (SPB) was a trade union centre in Belarus. Its headquarters are located in Minsk. In October 2020, during the 2020 Belarusian protests, SPB was classified as "independent" of the government by Marina Vorobei of ''Pro ...

(SPB), the Belarusian Trade Union of Radioelectronic Industry Workers (REP), and the Free Trade Union of Metalworkers. At least three workers of

Byelorussian Steel Works OJSC Byelorussian Steel Works (Russian: ОАО Белорусский металлургический завод, , "БМЗ", BMZ) is a Belarusian company operating in the steel industry, centred in Zhlobin, Gomel Region. The main raw material ...

(BMZ) were fired in early 2021 after trying to organize local branch of

(BNP).Руководство Жлобинского БМЗ расправляется с профсоюзными активистами
/ref>

References

External links

ProfSoyuz Online website
{{Belarusian democracy movement Trade unions in Belarus