MINSK, 28 February (BelTA) – Belarusian people are committed to social dialogue, and we have made sure many times that this is a smart and promising path, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at the 8th Congress of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB) on 28 February, BelTA informs.
According to Aleksandr Lukashenko, Belarus' national development goals are in sync with people's interests. In his words, thanks to this unanimity there were no mass confrontations and gallery play of public organizations in the history of sovereign Belarus, while such things are frequent in international news.
“Belarusian people are committed to social dialogue, and we have made sure many times that this is a smart and promising path,” Aleksandr Lukashenko emphasized.
The president described the today's conference as a significant event in the social and political life of the country which reflects the interests and demands of all able-bodied people. “We have good reason to say that in our contemporary history the trade union movement is a full-fledged participant of the country's development. We have created the state which values its people and fair attitude to them. This choice has predetermined further development of partnership between the authorities and public organizations,” the president said.
Aleksandr Lukashenko remarked that today all local councils of deputies, associations of youth, women and veterans are focused on creation and civil consolidation. According to the head of state, this is one of the major achievements. “And the protection of rights of working people is a priority of our national development,” he added. “Belarus guarantees better protection to its working people than in any other country – from the Constitution to the very recent decree concerning early retirement pensions.”
Trade unions have always been in the center of crucial economic and political events, the president said. In his words, they make up a truly people's organization – the essential foundation for maintaining balance in the society.
“However, we see that the number of trade union members is reducing in certain neighboring countries. For example, according to the International Labor Organization, only 5% of workers in Estonia, 8% in Lithuania, 13% in Poland have joined trade unions. And this is called democracy. As a result, trade unions cannot be a full-fledged participant of social partnership. The system of tripartism and social balance in general is falling apart in the society. There are other examples, such as Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, where 70-90% of workers are in trade unions. For example, the outreach of trade unions in Belarus is more than 93%,” Aleksandr Lukashenko said.
