“Putting the principles of social justice into practice”

ef. Last autumn, the Chairman of the Belarusian Federation of Trade Unions (FTUB), Mikhail Sergeyevich Orda, visited Switzerland. Almost nothing is reported about Belarus in the Western press, unless new sanctions are imposed or the “regime” has done something “bad” again. Voices directly from the country are not heard anyway, and media representatives prefer to travel elsewhere. Thus, the stereotype of Belarus as a dictatorship as it was during the Cold War remains in the public eye. It was therefore a good opportunity to obtain information directly from Mr Orda, and we were also amazed at what we were able to learn. This is how the following interview came about.

Current Concerns: Can you briefly introduce us to the FTUB? How many members does it have and what significance does it have for Belarus?
Mikhail Orda: The FTUB is the national centre of our country. We unite 15 sectoral trade unions and represent the interests of workers in all sectors of the economy – from culture and education to industry and trade. That’s a total of around four million people. And because we all act together; we carry a large weight in society.

It is often said that the trade unions in your country are a legacy of the Soviet Union. How does your trade union confederation differ from the trade unions in the former Soviet countries?
The Soviet Union has not existed for over 30 years. So it has nothing to do with the Soviet legacy. What’s more, all companies were state-owned back then. Today, only about 12 % of all organisations in Belarus are state-owned. The rest is private, including joint ventures and foreign companies. This means that today we are dealing with new companies and completely different social conditions. In many post-Soviet countries, trade unions have lost a lot of ground: In some states, the unionisation rate is only around 6–10 %.

What the trade unions do

In your estimation, what is the reason why so many people in Belarus organise themselves into trade unions?
We are able to maintain our position mainly because we keep the best of our practice in our work. For example, unlike many other foreign trade unions, we have maintained and continue to develop trade union sanatoriums, i.e., facilities where workers can rest, get medical check-ups and improve their health. And through collective agreements, people receive a discount on vouchers. Is this a task for the trade unions? Of course, because it is additional social support and protection of workers’ health.
  We have developed the wage agreements very seriously. And at the legislative level, we have ensured that the standards laid down in wage agreements, which improve the situation of employees and offer them additional guarantees and payments, are binding. Even if it is not in the Labour Code. All this is the reason why people join trade unions.
  In general, trade unions in Belarus are a full-fledged partner for both the authorities and employers. And this is enshrined in a number of important documents. One, it is the Constitution of our country, which clearly states that citizens have the right to organise in trade unions in order to protect their economic and social interests. Two, there are specific legal acts that clearly state that the development of social partnership between the authorities, employers and trade unions is the most important task in this area of the state. In international legal terms, this is known as tripartism.

Trade unions are not
welcomed by every company

You mentioned earlier that the equivalent of 88 % of companies in Belarus are private enterprises. Are there any problems if people in the private sector want to organise themselves into trade unions?
We have clearly defined our strategy: Wherever there are labour relations, there must also be a trade union so that the employee is not left alone with the employer, who has more power and opportunities from the outset. We are therefore working very actively and persistently to establish trade union organisations. There are different situations.
  There are some companies, several thousand in number, where employers use various methods to prevent the formation of a trade union. There is such a problem that we work on almost daily. We persuade, prove and achieve the necessary result. Because the strength and weight of any public organisation depends first and foremost on the number of people who belong to it, i.e., who support it and share its principles. And it is clear that this shapes the organisation’s influence in society.

Social partnership

How is social partnership, as you described it, implemented in practice?
Objectively speaking, the system of social partnership established in Belarus is one of the best in the world. I would just like to mention a few facts. At the national level, we have the National Council for Labour and Social Issues. This is a platform where we and our social partners work out agreements on the most important social and economic issues. They are enshrined in the General Agreement, which is concluded every three years between the government, employers and trade unions. This tripartite agreement is binding. On its basis, local and collective agreements are reached at regional and sectoral level and collective agreements are concluded at company level – as I mentioned earlier.
  The next important point is that all draft legislation dealing with labour, social and economic policy issues is submitted to the trade unions for legal review. This is our achievement and it is enshrined in our government’s regulations. This approach gives us the opportunity to work proactively. And even at the stage of drafting documents, we can correct and reject decisions that could in any way limit the guarantees for the people. And in most cases, the government listens to our comments. There are practically no comparable examples in the world of such systematic co-operation between trade unions and the authorities.
  In addition, we have the right to monitor compliance with labour legislation and occupational health and safety in all organisations on an ongoing basis by means of a special statutory order. Even in those where there is no basic trade union organisation. We carry out this work on an ongoing basis. And if we find violations, the employer is obliged to respond and report on the efforts made to remedy them.
  There is another effective form of activity – the labour disputes committees. This is actually a form of mediation. When a dialogue is established directly on site, in work collectives, with the help of the trade union, and disputes between employees and employers are resolved.
  And if an employer refuses to remedy the breach, we defend the interests of the employees in court. And this is where our work is very effective. Through the courts, we reinstate those who have been unlawfully dismissed, help people to recover unpaid wages, and so on.

“Putting the principles
of social justice into practice”

Are there also divergencies with the social partners that cannot be overcome?
Of course, there are different situations. And the opinions of the parties can differ, because each of them – employees and employers – has different interests. But the main thing is that we have learnt to listen to each other. And the effectiveness of this approach is confirmed by practice.
  It is largely thanks to the established system of social partnership that our country has made significant progress on many important issues. For example, Belarus ranks 34^th out of 163 countries in the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We have one of the lowest rates of actual unemployment – only 3.6 per cent. According to the Social Progress Index for 2022, Belarus ranks 61^st out of 168 countries. Our country is also represented in the category of countries with a very high level of human development – 60^th out of 191 countries. In addition, Belarus has one of the lowest rates of income stratification in society.
  All this shows that Belarus is putting the principles of social justice and a just world order into practice not just with words, but with deeds. We are always open to cooperation and ready to realise ideas and initiatives that benefit people.

Mr Orda, thank you very much for the interview. •

(Translation Current Concerns)