In Depth back to UNI In Depth home page 10/10/2000 Belarus: Protest letters to the political leaders of the Russian Federation Mikhail Shmakov, President of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR) has sent letters to the leaders of the State, requesting them to raise before the supreme authorities of the Republic of Belarus the issue of unacceptability of the violation of rights of Belorussian workers and their trade unions. The letters were addressed to Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, Mikhail Kasyanov, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Egor Stroev, Chairman of the Council of Federation of the Federal Assembly, Gennady Seleznyov, Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the heads of the State Duma factions and deputy groups, and to Pavel Borodin, State Secretary of the Executive Committee of the Confederate State of Russia and Belarus. ----------------------------------------------- To President of the Russian Federation V.V.Putin Dear Vladimir Vladimirovich, The Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia (FNPR) has been informed that the tension between the Belorussian authorities and the country’s trade unions, namely the Belarus Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB) and its affiliated industrial unions, escalates. The escalation manifests itself in the blocking of the FTUB bank accounts and blatant threats to bring criminal action against trade union leaders. All this has taken form of unconcealed pressure on the unions, particularly before the Congress of the FTUB to be held on October 10 and 11. Prior to that, the Belorussian authorities had also been making repeated attempts to curtail the rights and freedoms of the trade unions, which resulted in the country’s unions lodging a complaint with the ILO, duly filed and noted, against multiple violations of the ILO Convention Nr. 98: Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining (1949). The FNPR and its affiliates express their well-grounded concern in connection with the unending large-scale anti-union campaign launched by the Belorussian authorities in contravention of universally recognized norms and legislation, and the attempts of Belorussian governmental agencies to ensure their control over the activity of the country’s trade unions, limiting their rights and freedoms together with Belorussian workers’ right of association. The FNPR requests you to use Your authority and influence to prevent any further encroachments on the rights and freedoms of Belorussian workers and their unions, all the more so that this is observed on the territory of a state that has a confederate agreement with Russia. On our part, we declare that we shall be closely monitoring any developments in the situation and leave no anti-union actions of the Belorussian authorities without due repercussions. Respectfully Yours, Mikhail Shmakov, President FNPR ______________________ Union Network International http://www.union-network.org - contact@union-network.org