MINSK, 20 June (BelTA) – Belarus and the International Labor Organization (ILO) have many promising avenues for interaction in the development of social partnership. The relevant statement was made as Deputy Head of the Belarus President Administration Valery Mitskevich met with Special Adviser to the Director General of the International Labor Office (the permanent secretariat of the International Labor Organization) Kari Tapiola and UN Resident Coordinator Sanaka Samarasinha at premises of the Belarus President Administration on 20 June, BelTA has learned.
As an ILO expert Kari Tapiola has been cooperating with Belarus for a long time and knows peculiarities of the country very well. He came to Minsk as part of the work to implement the fourth direction of the direct-contacts mission to arrange an educational course for lawyers and judges on 20-22 June. Valery Mitskevich said that by attending the course, Belarusian lawyers will be able to get familiar with cutting-edge international practices in dealing with labor disputes. He also remarked that Belarus has always treated the ILO's work with utmost respect.
The deputy head of the Belarus President Administration went on saying that all the ILO recommendations are thoroughly studied as managerial decisions are made. “The development of social partnership, the formation of full-value trade unions, the enabling of safe labor conditions at Belarusian enterprises represent the most important tasks in the implementation of the state policy in the sphere of labor relations and economic ones,” stressed Valery Mitskevich.
In turn, Kari Tapiola mentioned the work being done in Belarus to protect rights of workers. He spoke in positive terms about the development of trade unions in the country. In his words, a normal platform has been created in Belarus for developing relations concerning trade unions and other associations that protect rights of working people. Belarusian trade unions actively advance cooperation with foreign trade unions, including those in Baltic states.
Efforts of the Belarusian side have been noted by ILO experts. This year Belarus has not been shortlisted for mandatory discussion during the session of the Committee on the Application of Standards in Geneva on 5-16 June as part of the 106th session of the International Labor Conference.
Kari Tapiola spoke in favor of further advancing cooperation with Belarus, including at the level of experts such as professional lawyers in efforts to improve the legislation. He mentioned the productive nature of the relations that had evolved between the International Labor Organization, the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, and the Labor and Social Protection Ministry. At the same time the establishment of tight working contacts between professional lawyers during the development of draft legal acts could help the relations reach higher cooperation levels, said the expert.
The proposal was backed by Valery Mitskevich. He underlined that Belarus and the International Labor Organization have many promising avenues for interaction in the development of social partnership and the trade unions movement and in efforts to secure rights of working people. The implementation of a supremacy of law project together with the United Nations Development Program is one of the avenues, said Valery Mitskevich.
