Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus
The primary mission of all trade unions is to protect the interests and ensure fair treatment of workers. The main principles are solidarity and partner cooperation with authorities and employers. Trade unions seek to resolve all contentious issues through dialogue both at the level of enterprises and the national level. The National Council for Labor and Social Affairs ensures effective cooperation between trade unions, authorities and employers. This is the platform where social partners work out agreements on the most pressing social and economic issues.
These agreements are formalized in the form of a binding tripartite general agreement. There are also local and tariff agreements at the level of regions and industries, and collective agreements at the level of companies.
Trade unions help draft and examine normative legal acts related to labor, social and economic rights and interests of people. No document regulating labor relations is passed without legal evaluation of trade unions.
The FTUB processes requests and proposals of labor collectives and initiates appropriate amendments to labor regulations.
A labor inspectorate of the FTUB provides legal assistance and support to employees. More than 100 professional lawyers provide free advice on a daily basis. If necessary, the FTUB lawyers protect the interests of trade union members in courts free of charge.
Trade union legal assistance is available to the widest possible audience. It can be obtained by phone, on the official internet website of the FTUB or during a personal visit. The FTUB holds reception hours on legal matters in all the regions of the country.
The FTUB technical and public labor inspectors deal with issues related to occupational safety and provision of personal protective equipment. Technical labor inspectors take part in the investigation of industrial accidents. Their main purpose is to defend the rights of the victim and obtain compensation if necessary.
The FTUB specialists analyze the correlation between salaries and prices in the country. In 2017, the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus suggested exercising ‘public’ control over prices for socially important goods and services. The proposal was backed by the Head of State.
In order to prevent unreasonable growth in prices for goods and services, a council on prices and tariffs was set up in May 2019 on the initiative of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus. The council includes representatives of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, the FTUB, the National Bank and the National Statistical Committee. Its aim is to monitor the situation with prices in the country, give a detailed analysis of the monitoring results, and prepare recommendations to make decisions on prices and duties.
The trade unions pay close attention to the development of children’s sport. There are 107 sport schools run by the trade unions in the country, with about 41,000 students going in for 48 sports. Every year over 500 students graduate from the sport schools and begin training on a higher level. The trade unions’ sport system for children offers not only professional athlete training but additional social support for families, opportunities for affordable and useful recreation for the younger generation.
The Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus places a high priority on preserving memory about the historic past of the country. Together with employees of various companies and enterprises, young Belarusians and veteran organizations the trade unions tidy up memorable places, war graves of soldiers and civilians. The trade unions help recover names of the fallen, raise funds for erecting and renewing memorial complexes.
In 2017, the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus was honored with Belarus President’s award For Spiritual Revival. The organization received the award for a number of projects aimed at promoting the patriotic education of citizens, including children, students and working youth. The renovation of the Mound of Glory memorial complex was one of the FTUB’s biggest projects. In 2019, the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus helped expand the exposition of military hardware at the Mound of Glory museum. On its initiative Belarus’ first renovated legendary attack aircraft Il-2 was mounted there.
“Trade unions have always been in the center of crucial economic and political events. They make up the essential foundation for maintaining balance in the society,” Aleksandr Lukashenko, President of Belarus said at the 8th Congress of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus in February 2020.
The Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus was awarded the Honorary State Banner in recognition of outstanding achievements in the social and economic development, protection of rights and interests of Belarusian workers.