{"id":147492,"date":"2025-07-20T19:54:17","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T16:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/147492\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T19:54:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T16:54:19","slug":"belarus-official-trade-union-a-helpless-pawn","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/147492\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarus\u2019 official trade union: a helpless pawn"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Belarus has established a nationwide trade union that answers directly to the head of state. The Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB), which has branches in every state-owned or state-affiliated company, is supposed to play a key role in helping the government control society but it proved completely ineffective during the 2020 postelection protests.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n (Alaksandar Pobat\/1prof.by)<\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Union leader reports to \u0141uka\u0161enka<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

State media reported last week that Juryj Sia\u0144ko, chairman of the FTUB, met with Alaksandar \u0141uka\u0161enka on July 17 to present a report on the federation\u2019s activities. FTUB leaders have regularly reported to \u0141uka\u0161enka, especially after he defeated a FTUB executive in the 2001 presidential election and brought the federation firmly under his control. These meetings, where the subordinate FTUB leader reports to the head of state, have since become routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FTUB, previously known as the Belarusian National Council of Trade Unions (BNCTU), is a Soviet holdover. In the Soviet system, it functioned as an extension of the government\u2014a tool to manage and control workers. An employee\u2019s reference letter, for example, required not only the signature of the company\u2019s CEO and Communist Party secretary but also that of the trade union cell leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitting on the fence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the BNCTU failed to gain independence from the state and never evolved into a genuine union that could defend and promote workers\u2019 rights.
Instead, it maintained a precarious position\u2014straddling the line between serving the government and appearing independent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FTUB primarily represented workers in the state sector, where union dues were automatically deducted from salaries. Its executives were often accountable to company management, and many managers\u2014and even cabinet ministers\u2014were themselves FTUB members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The union remained passive partly because the government delayed market reforms and privatization, leaving the public sector dominant. This arrangement suited the authorities, as the FTUB served to stabilize the system without challenging it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alaksandar Buchvosta\u016d, an independent union leader in the 1990s, observed in 1997 that the FTUB \u201cplayed the role of a buffer that absorbed worker discontent and helped the government in its inaction, discouraging it from changing anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ruler\u2019s view of trade unions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The FTUB might have developed into an independent organization had \u0141uka\u0161enka not tightened his grip on power and rolled back civil liberties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just four months after taking office, on November 23, 1994, he announced that trade unions must support the government\u2019s economic programs, oversee the use of state property, combat corruption and maintain discipline among members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent trade unions began to emerge in the early 1990s. Though small, they had the potential to grow in a democratic environment. But \u0141uka\u0161enka viewed them with hostility. Free unions, which defended workers\u2019 rights and frequently clashed with management and the government, were labeled as political threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka accused independent unions\u2014without evidence\u2014of being politically motivated and destabilizing the country. In his view, unions should unconditionally support the government\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relentless attacks on independent unions eventually forced them underground and drastically weakened their influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka, dissatisfied with the FTUB\u2019s passivity, moved to tighten control by replacing the leadership of several sectoral unions. After the 2001 election, he replaced his former rival, opposition candidate and FTUB Chairman U\u0142adzimir Han\u010daryk, with Leanid Kozik, who reliably followed the official line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a FTUB conference in 2002, \u0141uka\u0161enka declared, \u201cWe can effectively integrate you [the FTUB] into the system of state power in the process of its renovation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, the FTUB has functioned as an arm of the government\u2014an arrangement typical of authoritarian regimes. The FTUB chairmanship holds a high rank in the government\u2019s hierarchy. Membership in the official union is mandatory for public-sector employees, and refusal to join is viewed as a sign of political disloyalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FTUB branches are frequently led by former security officials. For example, Sia\u0144ko previously headed the State Customs Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Independent unions outlawed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the wake of the 2020 protests, the government has outlawed all independent trade unions and imprisoned their leaders, including Alaksandar Jara\u0161uk, Hienad\u017a Fiadyni\u010d, Volha Brycikava, and others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FTUB no longer acts as a shock absorber for public discontent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The International Labor Organization (ILO) invoked Article 33\u2014its strongest enforcement tool\u2014after Belarus failed to implement recommendations from its Commission of Inquiry. However, the government ignored the measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0141uka\u0161enka has repeatedly urged private businesses to establish FTUB-affiliated union branches, aiming to extend state control to the private sector. So far, most private owners have resisted these efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the government may be satisfied with the FTUB\u2019s obedience, this arrangement presents a critical weakness: without independent unions to channel and mitigate discontent, public frustration can erupt into unorganized, mass protests\u2014as it did in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FTUB, which once boasted over 4 million members, was absent from the scene during the protests against electoral fraud. Unsurprisingly, \u0141uka\u0161enka replaced its then-leader, Michai\u0142 Orda, after the unrest was suppressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The massive scale of those demonstrations revealed a fundamental truth: no matter how large or centralized, government-run organizations cannot substitute for genuine, grassroots representation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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