MINSK, 25 January (BelTA) - More than a dozen major international trade union associations have already adopted a statement on the inadmissibility of sanctions and restrictions of the right to work. The corresponding letters of solidarity and support of employees of Belarusian enterprises are sent to the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB), BelTA learned from the FTUB press service.
The General Confederation of Trade Unions, which unites more than 30 million workers, expressed its strong protest against the application of sanctions and sent a corresponding statement to the representation of the European Union. “The EU infringes the fundamental right of every person - the right to work with dignity to ensure a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. Sanction restrictions can most adversely affect the economic activities of these enterprises and lead to a reduction in employment and wages,” reads the statement. The General Confederation of Trade Unions called on the European Union to lift the discriminatory sanctions.
The International Eurasian Metal Workers Federation, which unites more than 20 million workers from 19 countries of the Eurasian region - CIS, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Albania, Turkey and others, also expressed their solidarity with the workers of enterprises - members of the Belprofmash trade union. “We believe that the imposition of sanctions on businesses is primarily an infringement of a fundamental human right - the right to work,” stressed the organization.
The CIS International Federation of Trade Unions of Forestry Workers also insists on the inadmissibility of such restrictive measures by the EU. “We consider this decision as an attempt of the European Union to worsen the social and economic situation of workers and their families in Belarus,” the federation stressed in a statement it sent to the EU representation.
Statements condemning the sanctions against the Belarusian enterprises were also adopted by the Soyuzmetal trade union center, the International Trade Union the Association of Metal Workers, the International Association of Trade Unions of Communications Workers, the International Confederation of Oil and Gas Construction Trade Unions, the International Association of Trade Unions of Chemical and Allied Industries, the International Confederation of Trade Unions of Railway Workers, the International Association of Trade Unions of Transport and Road Construction Workers, the International Confederation of Trade Unions of Water Transport Workers, the International Association of Trade Unions of Housing and Utilities, Local Industry and Services Sector Workers, and others.
In December, the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus adopted an open statement about violations of workers' rights of Belarus by the European Union. Later, the Federation of Trade Unions sent a complaint against the actions of the European Union to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations. “The UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council have repeatedly stressed in their resolutions that unilateral coercive measures are contrary to international law, the UN Charter, as well as the norms and principles governing peaceful relations between states,” the national trade union center said. In this regard, the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus insists on the recognition of the EU actions as unlawful and requests the Human Rights Council to assist in abolishing these measures.
