On the eve of the October 7, the World’s Day of trade union actions for decent labor, the BKDP has prepared its Appeal addressing working people of . The independent trade union centre calls on all workers and employees to get united to advocate their rights and interests in their fight for decent labor. “Join us!  Our common slogans will be: “We have right for decent labor!”, “Increase salaries before raising prices!, “Say NO to short-term contracts!, “Do not let the country be sold off and looted! The appeal will be disseminated in the BKDP affiliates, mass media and near the entrances to the enterprises and factories

October 7 the BKDP council will be held at which the members will discuss the program of further actions to gain the decent work and living.  

International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP)

OCTOBER 7 IS THE WORLD’S DAY OF TRADE UNION ACTIONS FOR

DECENT LABOR!

APPEAL OF BELARUSIAN CONGRESS OF DEMOCRATIC TRADE UNIONS (BKDP)

TO ALL WORKING PEOPLE

Dear Compatriots, Workers of !

On the initiative of the ITUC, the biggest and most influential international trade union organization the BKDP has the honor to affiliate with, the October 7 is marked all over the planet as the World’s Day of Trade Union Actions for Decent Labor. The ITUC calls on to express solidarity and bring together the efforts of all those who are obliged to protect the interests of the workers worldwide.

Our organization which integrates Belarusian Independent Union (BNP), Belarusian Free Trade Union (SPB) and Free Metalworkers’ Union (SPM) is the only independent union centre which follows a consistent and steady course of fight so as all workers in the country could enjoy their right for decent labor. We are steady and resolute in our efforts against current social and economic policy that dooms vast majority of working people and their families to poverty.

Can many of you today be satisfied with the size of your salaries and wages and consider them sufficient for decent living when they are less than 400 USD a month and in most cases much lower? For sure no! No matter how hard the official propaganda tried to paint in glowing colors the picture of a happy and prosperous life we do realize that there is nothing of the kind in real life. It is only another myth they want to make us believe in.

The hard reality is such that our incomes cannot catch up with the galloping inflation. Each day when we go to the shop we discover with amazement new prices on many other first need commodities and particularly on food products. The officials are shamefacedly silent on it as they have forgotten already to say truth about life of ordinary people.

They prefer not to see either the rising prices which make the basic goods unpurchasable for many of us or they refuse to notice the accelerating inflation too. They prefer not to recall that in the neighboring Russia the average wages and salaries make up nearly 700 USD and hundreds of thousands of our fellow-countrymen go there as migrant workers in search of better income. They completely ignore the fact that in Lithuania and Poland, our neighbors in the West,  the prices on food products in many cases are much lower than in Belarus but the income is 2,5 - 3 times higher than we have here.

Almost all workers in have compulsory short-term employment contracts. Having all workers and employees on a string the authorities deprive us of our confidence in future as well as do not let us demand fair salaries and decent working conditions and have self-respect.  The BKDP is persistent in its efforts to abolish slavery-like short-term contracts and calls on all workers to fight for their rights together with us.

The Government of Belarus has adopted a plan of privatization for the coming years. Not only our fate but the future of our children and grand children will depend on how this privatization is going to be implemented. We are bound to demand from the regime to make this process open and transparent. We must know how the new owners are going to solve such vitally important issues as preservation of work places and social gains. We must not allow privatization process be turned into one more robbery and be implemented at the expense of the workers.

The Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions calls on all working people of the country to get consolidated to advocate their rights and interests.

Join us! Our common slogans will be:

“We have right for decent labor! 

“Increase salaries before raising prices!

“Say NO to short-term contracts!,

“Do not let the country be sold off and looted!

E-mail: bcdtu@mail.ru

www.bkdp.org

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