Belarus

Right to strike. The Committee recalls that it had been requesting the Government for a number of years to amend sections 388(1), (3) and (4), 390, 392 and 393 of the Labour Code. The Committee regrets that the Government merely reiterates its previously expressed consideration that the national legislation is in conformity with the international labour instruments, which in any case do not expressly provide for the right to strike; that the legality of the interpretation by the ILO supervisory bodies that Convention No. 87 enshrines the right to strike has repeatedly and rightly been questioned; that only the International Court of Justice has the right to interpret ILO Conventions for subsequent mandatory application of that interpretation by the members States; that in Belarus, according to section 388 of the Labour Code, a strike constitutes a temporary and voluntary refusal by workers to perform their employment duties (fully or in part) for the purpose of settling a collective labour dispute; and that strikes of political nature are forbidden. The Government once again states that unauthorized protest actions that took place after the presidential election campaign in 2020 and the attempts to organize a strike movement in enterprises without regard for the law have nothing to do with the exercise of trade unions’ rights and the work carried by trade unions to protect workers or the social and economic rights of citizens. The Government adds that the broader issues relating to economic and social policy take place in the framework of the social partnership system through negotiations, consultations and the rejection of confrontation. The Government therefore reiterates that amending the legislation regulating strikes would not facilitate the exercise of the right of workers’ organizations to act in full freedom, but to the contrary, would create additional opportunities for abuse by every kind of destructive agent and provide an instrument for undermining the country’s economic potential.
The Committee deems it important to once again recall that its opinions and recommendations derive their persuasive value from the legitimacy and rationality of the Committee’s work based on its impartiality, experience and expertise. The Committee’s technical role and moral authority are well recognized, particularly as it has been engaged in its supervisory task for 95 years, by virtue of its composition, independence and its working methods built on continuing dialogue with governments taking into account information provided by employers’ and workers’ organizations. This has been reflected in the incorporation of the Committee’s opinions and recommendations in national legislation, international instruments and court decisions. It is within this mandate that it has been dealing with the questions pertaining to the right to strike.
The Committee notes with regret that the Labour Code was amended on 28 May 2021 to further restrict the right to strike by expressly allowing an employer to dismiss/terminate a labour contract with a worker who is absent from work in connection with serving an administrative penalty in the form of an administrative arrest; who forces other workers to participate in a strike or calls on other workers to stop performing work duties without sound reason; and who participates in an illegal strike or other forms of withholding labour without sound reasons (section 42(7)). Recalling the BKDP allegations that numerous trade unionists who participated in mass events and strikes organized following the August 2020 Presidential election were found guilty of administrative breaches and received corresponding penalty in the form of administrative arrest, the Committee notes that in its latest observations, the BKDP provides a list of workers who in such circumstances were dismissed. The Committee regrets that the amendment of the Labour Code would appear to facilitate the dismissal and penalization of workers for exercising their civil liberties and trade union rights. The Committee is therefore bound to request the Government to take measures, in consultation with the social partners, to revise the above-mentioned legislative provisions, which negatively affect the right of workers’ organizations to organize their activities in full freedom, and to provide information on all measures taken or envisaged to that end.