MINSK, 20 January (BelTA) – The Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB) suggests setting up a special fund for paying salaries to employees of the companies that go bankrupt. The idea was mentioned by FTUB Chairman Mikhail Orda after he met with the head of state on 20 January, BelTA has learned.
According to Mikhail Orda, the payment of salaries to employees of bankrupt companies was mentioned during the meeting. Back in 2017 the FTUB suggested creating a procedure to pay lost earnings to employees. In 2019 the Economy Ministry and the Finance Ministry worked out a concept of mandatory insurance against the failure to pay salaries when a company goes bankrupt. In line with the concept organizations that may theoretically be subjected to the bankruptcy procedure will have to transfer 0.04% of the salary budget to the state insurance company Belgosstrakh. The money will then be used to pay lost earnings over the course of three months.
According to the FTUB chairman, the scheme will provide people with a certain amount of money that will allow them to look for jobs. And, most importantly, the money will be transferred to the state social protection fund, Mikhail Orda noted. In his words, at present bankrupt companies owe about Br30 million in salaries and fees to the state social protection fund.
Mikhail Orda had also informed the head of state about efforts of the trade unions to use legal expertise to protect workers' rights. “As many as 418 illegally fired workers have recovered their jobs over the course of five years. Over Br20 million in illegally unpaid salaries have been returned to the people. In 2019 alone the state trade unions defended interests of trade union members in 120 cases in court,” the official said.
The establishment of basic trade union organizations in private companies was also mentioned during the meeting. “The head of state keeps insisting that if there are employer-employee relationships, there must be trade unions to protect legal rights of the workers,” Mikhail Orda stressed.
Mikhail Orda also presented his proposals on ways to improve the performance of the Mogilev-based enterprise Strommashina and Brest Electric Bulb Plant, which are not doing so well these days.
