MINSK, 21 August (BelTA) – According to the Belarusian legislation, a strike can be utilized only as a means to defend labor or social interests, not political views, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko said in an interview with the ONT TV channel on 20 August, BelTA has learned.
Roman Golovchenko noted that opponents of the government urge everyone to act purely in the legal field, but when they call working collectives to go on strikes, they refer only to the Constitution of Belarus. In the meantime, these issues are more closely regulated by other laws.
“Labor relations are governed by the Labor Code, and it says that a strike, as a form of protection of workers' rights, can only be used in the case of labor or social disputes, when a collective agreement is violated, when labor and social rights of employees under their contract are violated. A strike, according to the Belarusian legislation, as in the European one, does not involve defending political rights or views,” the prime minister said.
He also drew attention to the fact that the law clearly spells out the procedure for calling a strike. First of all, its initiators should be sure that if there is a labor dispute with the employer, it affects the whole team. At least half of the team must elect its representatives. At least two-thirds of this half must take a decision and notify the employer in advance, within two weeks. During a strike, all labor and social guarantees are suspended and wages are not paid,” said Roman Golovchenko.
In his opinion, those who urge workers to strike do not warn people about such nuances deliberately. “When it became clear that Belarusians are reluctant to join street protests, that they are not the people who are ready for tough and violent actions, they started using such tactic,” the prime minister said.
Workers, however, are not eager to strike either, said Roman Golovchenko. He cited Minsk Tractor Works as an example. They plant employs about 16,000 specialists and only 500 workers decided to strike. “Emotions have faded away,” he said.
The head of government emphasized that it is workers of state enterprises, not private ones, who are called to go on strikes. The opposition says that the strikers will get financial support. “The Belarusian legislation prohibits financial assistance from political parties, other associations and foreign organizations during a strike. Those who speak about it deliberately resort to manipulation,” the prime minister added.
In his words, the government is now monitoring the situation at major industrial enterprises. The total number of employees there is about 650,000 people. According to the latest information, only some 360 people have not been performing their duties. At the same time, many media outlets, including foreign ones, say that ‘Belarus is paralyzed', said the prime minister. “All enterprises in Belarus operate in a usual mode. Production volumes have not been reduced,” Roman Golovchenko concluded.