GSP SUSPENSION NOT PRODDING GOB TO IMPROVE WORKER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MINSK 000858 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/11/2017 TAGS: ELAB PHUM PGOV BO SUBJECT: GSP SUSPENSION NOT PRODDING GOB TO IMPROVE WORKER RIGHTS REF: A. MINSK 551 QB. 06 MINSK 1188 QC. MINSK 430 Classified By: Ambassador Karen Stewart for reason 1.4 (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (C) The EU's suspension of the General System of Preferences (GSP) for Belarus over the government's unwillingness to follow recommendations from the International Labor Organization (ILO) has not triggered any improvement in worker rights. To the contrary, the Presidential Administration announced it would push forward with a repressive new law on trade unions. Even without the new law, union leaders remain so fearful of government pressure that they publicly denied responsibility for a significant work stoppage in Soligorsk in September. The GOB's actions once again show Lukashenko's determination to marginalize all potential independent centers of power. End summary. Disregard for Worker Rights Continues after GSP Suspension -------------- -------------- ¶2. (C) While Minsk earlier hoped to roll back Brussels suspension of GSP (ref A),Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BCDTU) Chair Aleksandr Yaroshuk told Deputy Pol/Econ Chief that the GOB would continue to ignore ILO recommendations for improving workers rights. Mindful of the precedent of Solidarity in Poland, the GOB does not believe it could carve out an island of democracy for trade unions while still retaining an authoritarian political system, according to Yaroshuk. Former local ILO employee Yevgeniy Burak added that some GOB bureaucrats actually appreciated having GSP suspension as a convenient excuse for their failure to export successfully to the EU. Bill Restricting Labor Unions to Go Forward -------------- ¶3. (C) ILO Labor Union specialist Natalya Vershagina expressed dismay that the GOB will push forward with its draft law on trade unions (ref B) during the parliament's fall session. She added that the latest draft does not include changes recommended by the ILO. The stipulation that a union must have at least 7,000 members for recognition on the national level threatens all unions, although BCDTU would theoretically have a chance to meet the requirement. Anatoliy Fedynich, Chair of the Radio and Electronics Workers Union, lamented that the GOB did not include lawyers offered by the labor unions in the working group drafting the law. Strike Organizers Stay Underground -------------- ¶4. (C) A September 9 work stoppage at the Belaruskaly potash mine in Soligorsk demonstrates the continued inability of workers to successfully present their demands to management openly through trade unions. Approximately 80 percent of miners on shift descended into the mine, but laid down their equipment. Neither the independent union (ref C) affiliated with the BCDTU nor the official union claimed responsibility, even though workers from both unions took part in the action. Yaroshuk publicly denied the BCDTU's role, but told Deputy Pol/Econ Chief that he was in Soligorsk when planning began and on the day of the work stoppage. ¶5. (C) The stoppage occurred after the regime did not rescind a new regulation cutting pensions for retired miners who went back to work in mines. The government compromised, amending the rule to allow those who had mined more than five years prior to the new regulation to continue receiving full pensions even if they returned to mining. Vershagina opined that workers benefiting from the compromise might still support future strike actions in solidarity with less experienced workers. Comment: GOB Marginalizing the Messenger -------------- ¶6. (C) Even without a new trade union law, the GOB has successfully marginalized independent trade unions. With three-quarters of the economy in state hands, including almost all heavy industry, the system of employment based MINSK 00000858 002 OF 002 on short-term contracts continues to allow effective discrimination against workers brave enough to join independent unions. Soligorsk remains something of an exception thanks to high prices for potash and the city's history of union activism. Even there, union leaders fear that the regime would attack union leaders openly supporting a one-shift strike. The GOB's willingness to suffer the indignity of indefinite GSP suspension rather than back down to a weak labor movement suggests that Lukashenko still values unbridled control over dissent more than improved relations with the EU. Stewart