The implementation by the Belarusian government of the International Labour Organization (ILO)'s recommendations will be on the agenda of the organization's conference in June, Kari Tapiola, the ILO's executive director for standards and principles, told BelaPAN.
The matter will be discussed and a decision will be taken at the International Labor Conference, he said. Mr. Tapiola arrived in Minsk on Monday to take part in a workshop on the implementation by Minsk of the ILO’s recommendations. Participating also were visiting Guy Ryder, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation, Belarusian government officials, as well as representatives of employers` associations and the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions and the Belarusian Trade Union of Electronic Industry Workers.
Mr. Tapiola said that the workshop had seen a detailed and open discussion on all issues. He expressed hope that the event would help the Belarusian authorities develop measures to improve the situation regarding trade unions in the country. He said that he also hoped that the discussion would accelerate the implementation of the recommendations.
ILO experts will continue monitoring the situation in Belarus, and they will submit their report at a session to be held by the ILO's Governing Body in March, Mr. Tapiola added.
The ILO Commission of Inquiry adopted 12 recommendations for the Belarusian government in late 2004, after considering a 200-page report compiled by a special commission formed to probe the government's alleged interference in the activities of trade unions.
In December 2006, the European Union decided to suspend Belarus' trade benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences as punishment for Minsk's failure to respect independent trade unions` rights and carry out the ILO recommendations.
Source: BelaPAN
| 
