18 August 2006
Pro-government trade union federation pushing for collective agreement requirement

The pro-government Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB) intends to push through a bill that would require all companies and organizations to conclude collective bargaining agreements.

The plan was under discussion at Thursday's meeting of the National Council on Labor and Social Matters which consists of representatives of trade unions, the government and employers.

FTUB chief Leonid Kozik said that many private companies are unwilling to sign such agreements with unions, whereas violations of labor regulations abound in the sector.

When inspecting private companies without any trade union grassroots organizations in 2005 and this year, the FTUB detected more than 4,000 irregularities, with most of them being "unimaginable in the government sector." According to Mr. Kozik, private employers often do not register employees on the companies' books, pay them cash in hand and do not allow them to take a leave.

A total of 17,747 collective bargaining agreements have been concluded in the country on the basis of general agreements between the Belarusian government and national associations of employers and trade unions.

Speaking about the implementation of the 2006-2008 general agreement, Mr. Kozik cited this year's economic statistics, saying that they were a major result of joint work.

The FTUB also intends to request the government to order companies without union grassroots cells to pay monthly contributions totaling three percent of the pay roll to trade unions. //BelaPAN