1 November, 2010
The garment workers of Delta Style in the city of Soligorsk, Southern Belarus, have been attempting to organize a local union within the structure of ICEM-affiliated Belarusian Independent Trade Union (BNP) for some time. The 101 women at the factory have seen their efforts blocked by the local administration repeatedly, according to BNP Chairman Vasili Korabau.
Efforts by the women to achieve trade union recognition began on 29 May 2009, when they conducted three constituent assemblies, each time submitting registration documents to the Soligorsk District Executive.
Local officials, however, rejected the submission on administrative grounds, saying that certain documents were submitted late, or not signed by the correct people. Reacting to the submission for trade union recognition, the local authorities requested details of the trade union meeting, and of those workers present. When this information was given to the local authorities, company management immediately began intimidating those workers named. Workers were brought into the director’s office and interrogated and also present for these meetings were others, presumed to be employees of the local authority.
This blatant breach of labour rights by the company, teamed with the local government, is appalling and the ICEM condemns such nefarious actions.
The intimidation caused 30 workers to leave the trade union. The Regional Chair of BNP, Natalia Mihnjukevich, attempted to meet with those workers in recent months and was promptly arrested for attempting to organize meetings with the workers. She was then found guilty in a regional court on 27 August, and fined.
This treatment of Mihnjukevich moved those 30 workers who had left the union, to return and re-submit the documents for trade union recognition once again. The submission was again refused, on the grounds that all workers involved in making the request were no longer employed at the factory at the time of consideration. If these grounds for refusal are permitted to stand, the company has the power to relocate one worker during the consideration period, which lasts at least one month. The other main reason for the rejection of trade union recognition was, according to the authorities, that the local had not yet applied to become part of the BNP regional organization. Although the BNP rules require local recognition prior to becoming part of the regional and national union.
The ICEM is requesting that affiliates support BNP and its oppressed workers by taking action. Write a note of protest to the Soligorsk Regional Executive Committee and the JSC Delta Style management here and here.