International Trade Union Confederation

Freedom of association / Right to organise

Freedom of association

Anti-Union discrimination

Barriers to the establishment of organisations

Excessive representativity or minimum number of members required for the establishment of a union

Presidential Decree No. 2 of January 1999 sets down minimum membership requirements at the national, branch and enterprise levels that are so high that they make it almost impossible to create new unions, which in turn undermines the position of existing ones. At the national level, there must be a minimum of 500 founding members representing the majority of the regions of Belarus.

Restrictions on trade unions’ right to organise their administration

Restrictions on the right to freely organise activities and formulate programmes

Under Presidential Decree No. 5 of 31 August 2015 on Foreign Gratuitous Aid, the foreign gratuitous aid cannot be used to organize or hold assemblies, rallies, street marches, demonstrations, pickets or strikes, or to produce or distribute campaign materials, hold seminars or carry out other forms of political and mass campaigning work among the population. A single violation of the Regulation bears the sanction of possible liquidation of the organization.

Other formalities or requirements which excessively delay or substantially impair the free establishment of organisations

Trade unions must provide the official address of their headquarters to be able to register. The headquarters is often the workplace or the premises of the enterprise, as unions are not allowed to register the home addresses of their leaders as the trade union's legal address. A letter from management confirming the address is usually required, making trade unions dependent on the good will of the employer. A list of names of trade unions’ founding members must be sent to the Ministry of Justice.

Administrative authorities’ power to unilaterally dissolve, suspend or de-register trade union organisations

Trade unions may be deleted from the register by a decision of the registrar, without any court procedure. The registrar can remove a trade union from the register if, following the issuance of a written warning to the trade union stating that the organisation violates legislation or its own statues, the violations are not eliminated within a month. A union can also be dissolved by the registrar if their recorded data is no longer correct, e.g. if a union loses its legal address and cannot obtain a new one.

Other external interference allowed by law

The Criminal Code stipulates that "Discrediting the Republic of Belarus" is punishable with arrest for up to six months or imprisonment for up to two years. According to the Code, "discrediting" means deliberately giving foreign states or foreign or international organisations "false statements" on the country's political, social or economic situation.

Right to collective bargaining

Right to collective bargaining

Barriers to the recognition of collective bargaining agents

Absence of criteria or discretionary, unclear or unreasonable criteria for determining representative organisations

Presidential Ordinance No. 278 recommends that each company and organisation conclude one collective agreement. The criteria for determining the representative organisation are not specified in law.

Restrictions on the principle of free and voluntary bargaining

Compulsory conciliation and / or binding arbitration procedure in the event of disputes during collective bargaining, other than in essential services

Pursuant to article 379 of the Labour Code, when disputes arise during the course of collective bargaining, workers must put forward their demands to the employer within one month of the start of negotiations unless otherwise agreed by the parties. If the employer refuses to meet all or part of the workers’ demands, a conciliation committee must be set up. If the parties do not agree with the committee's decision, they can apply to have their case heard by the National Labour Arbitrage.

Right to strike

Right to strike

Undue interference by authorities or employers during the course of a strike

Authorities’ or employers’’’ power to unilaterally prohibit, limit, suspend or cease a strike action

The President may cancel a strike or suspend it for a period of up to three months in the interest of national security, public order, public health, or where the rights and freedoms of others are threatened.

Limitations or ban on strikes in certain sectors

Unreasonable or discretionary (i.e. without negotiation with social partners or absence of an independent authority in the event of disagreement) determination of the extent of the "minimum service" to be guaranteed during strikes in public services

According to article 392 of the Labour Code, a minimum service must be ensured during all strikes. The minimum service is to be determined by a collective agreement, and where no such agreement exists, the parties shall agree on the minimum service within 5 days of the decision to call a strike. If the parties do not reach an agreement, the local executive and administrative body can make a decision on the minimum service that is binding on the parties.

Undermining of the recourse to strike actions or their effectiveness

Other legal provisions undermining the right to strike

Strike participants may not receive financial aid or subsidies from foreign organisations.

Barriers to lawful strike actions

Other undue, unreasonable or unjustified prerequisites

A strike must be held within three months of the failure to reach an agreement through conciliation. The duration of the strike must be specified in advance.

Other excessively complex or time-consuming formalities to call a strike

Section No. 9-1 of the Law on mass events establishes a notification procedure to organise mass events and protests. A notification must be submitted to the local executive and administrative body no later than ten days before the proposed date of the event. The notification must indicate the purpose, type, venue, source of funding for the mass event; date, time of its beginning and ending; an estimated number of participants; surname, name, patronymic of the organiser(s); as well as measures to ensure public order and security during the mass event and measures related to medical care and cleaning the territory after the event. If the organiser of an assembly decides to hold it in a place that is not designated as a location for mass events; they must contact the local executive committee and must submit an application no later than 15 days before the expected date of the mass event. Regarding this last requirement, it should be noted that mass events are to be held in "permanent locations" specifically prescribed for this purpose. At the moment, the permanently assigned locations where mass events may be held are set out by local executive and administering bodies. These places are usually highly inconvenient, located far from city centres and infrastructures of local authorities (parks, gardens, stadiums). For instance, in the city of Minsk, assemblies are allowed in only six public squares.

Other restrictions

Other restrictions

On 8 June 2021, the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed new legislation which punishes those accused of participating in unauthorized demonstrations with imprisonment for up to three years. Those who are found to participate in or promote "extremist activity" would face up to six years in jail.

Excessive civil or penal sanctions for workers and unions involved in non-authorised strike actions

On 8 June 2021, the Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed new legislation which punishes those accused of participating in unauthorized demonstrations with imprisonment for up to three years. Those who are found to participate in or promote "extremist activity" would face up to six years in jail. The definition of “extremist activity” is not clearly defined in the new legislation, and so critics fear that it's likely to be used to suppress any dissent, but also any media activity from organisations opposing or critical of the government. This new law follows laws enacted on 24 May 2021 making it compulsory to obtain a permit from the authorities to organise mass events and prohibiting journalists from reporting live from such events.