Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 2005, Publication: 93rd ILC session (2005)

Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87) - Belarus (Ratification: 1956)

The Government communicated the following written information:

The Commission of Inquiry regarding Belarus' observance of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98), was appointed by the Governing Body of the International Labour Organization at its 288th Session in November 2003. The Government of Belarus gave every support to the Commission to accomplish its task. All the necessary information, meetings and consultations were provided. The Commission issued its report in July 2004. The report contains recommendations for the Government of Belarus concerning improvements of the national legislation in the field of freedom of association and protection of trade union rights. The deadline for the implementation of some recommendations was fixed for 1 June 2005. In November 2004, the Government of Belarus officially stated that everything that would be undertaken by the Government to fulfil the Commission's recommendations would be carried out within the framework of the law, in strict conformity with its competence, principles of division of power and non-interference of the State in the internal business of trade unions. In order to implement the recommendations of the Commission, the Government of the Republic of Belarus has taken the following steps:

1. According to the requirement of the Commission its recommendations have been published in the magazine of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Republic of Belarus named Labour Safety and Social Protection, which is distributed in all Belarusian enterprises and organizations.

2. The Government has adopted the appropriate plan of action. The copy of the plan has been forwarded to the International Labour Office.

The actions stipulated by the plan will be carried out in three basic directions:

-- Further improvements of the national legislation and law enforcement on creation and registration of trade unions; realization by trade unions of their authorized activity (recommendations Nos. 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 and 10).

-- Perfection of the mechanisms of protection of the rights of trade unions and prevention of discrimination in the sphere of labour relations owing to membership of the workers in trade unions (recommendations Nos. 4, 5, 7 and 8).

-- Development of social partnership and social dialogue (recommendations Nos. 11 and 12).

3. In line with the recommendations, the Government has developed the draft Law of the Republic of Belarus "On associations of the employers" aimed at the further development of the system of social partnership. The draft Law has already been studied by the ILO and has received a positive reaction. Also in line with the recommendations, the Government is working out the new draft Law of the Republic of Belarus "On trade unions". At this stage the provisions of the draft are discussed at the level of experts of the Ministry of Labour in close cooperation with the wide range of interested state agencies, trade unions and employers.

4. In line with the recommendations, the Government has established an expert council on development of the social and labour legislation aimed at maintaining the constant dialogue and interaction between the authorities, trade unions (including representatives of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus and the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions), employers, NGOs, scientists, and the Ministry of Labour of Belarus. The Council provides a wide forum for exchange of the views and proposals on the development of the national labour legislation, role of the State, trade unions and employers in the system of social partnership.

5. In line with the recommendations, the Ministry of Labour of Belarus has prepared and submitted to all interested parties (enterprises, trade unions, state agencies) the Explanatory Letter with interpretation of the norms and provisions of the international and domestic legislation determining principles of interaction between social partners and non-interference by the employers and trade unions in the internal affairs of each other.

6. In line with the recommendations, during the period of January-April 2005, the State Labour Inspection has examined the number of enterprises employing more than 2 million workers in total on the subject of law enforcement practice in conclusion of fixed-term labour contracts. More than 1,000 infringements of labour legislations were found and 226 entrepreneurs were penalized (fines, management responsibility etc.). The inspection, however, did not discover any facts of anti-trade union discrimination on those enterprises.

7. Now the Ministry of Labour of Belarus, in cooperation with the ILO, is preparing joint seminars within the framework of implementation of the recommendations of the Commission.

For the implementation of some recommendations the Government urgently needs technical and expert assistance from the International Labour Office, namely, in the field of trade union registration, regulation of trade union mass actions, regulation of external financial assistance, building up education and awareness tools. The Government of Belarus remains committed to continue to cooperate with the ILO in perfection of the system of socio-economic relations in Belarus and in further fulfilment of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry.

In addition, before the Committee, a Government representative emphasized the importance of the cooperation between her Government and the ILO Commission of Inquiry appointed under article 26 of the ILO Constitution to examine the observance by the Government of the Republic of Belarus of Conventions Nos. 87 and 98, in order to gain a proper understanding of the present case. Although the Government had not considered it necessary to appoint the Commission of Inquiry, once it had been established it had demonstrated its willingness to cooperate with the Commission, for example by providing all necessary information on the law and practice concerning freedom of association and hosting the mission of the Commission to Belarus in April 2004. During its mission, the Commission had met government officials, trade unions and employers' organizations without any interference from the Government. It had then conducted formal hearings in Geneva at which the Government had been represented by officials of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the Ministry of Justice of Belarus. The Commission had expressed its appreciation to the Government of Belarus for the full cooperation it had provided in respect of all aspects of the Commission's work and for its cordial and open attitude.

The Government had studied carefully the report entitled "Trade union rights in Belarus" prepared by the Commission of Inquiry and the recommendations contained therein. In its letter to the Director-General, as well as at the 291st Session of the Governing Body in November 2004, the Government had expressed its willingness to fulfil the Commission's recommendations, in the light of the situation of Belarus and its sovereign interests.

The Commission's recommendations included 12 points and covered various issues. Several recommendations, including the deadline for their implementation, needed to be adapted to the particular situation of Belarus. To do so, the Government had adopted a Plan of Action, under which the process of implementation of the Commission's recommendations would involve all the social partners and other concerned parties. The Plan aimed at further improvement of the national legislation and practice on the establishment and registration of trade unions and the exercise of their activities, improvement of the mechanisms of protection of trade union rights and protection against acts of anti-union discrimination, and the development of tripartism and social dialogue. The practical implementation of this Plan was to be carried out on the basis of a list of concrete measures to be taken within the first six months of 2005. This first stage of the implementation process had been already carried out and the Government was presently working on the second stage of this process. The recommendations of the Commission had been published in the Journal of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, Social and Labour Protection, and could be found on numerous web sites, including the ILO web site.

The Commission had further recommended taking measures to prevent acts of interference by employers in the activities of trade unions, in particular by issuing clear instructions to enterprise managers. In this regard, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection had sent a letter to all concerned parties in which it had explained that the relevant national legislation and international standards on social partnership prohibited all acts of interference by social partners in the each other's internal affairs.

The Commission of Inquiry had raised the issue of the use of fixed-term contracts, which were a significant trend in many countries. The legislation of Belarus also provided for the possibility to conclude fixed-term contracts. The main legislative acts in this area were the Labour Code and Presidential Decree No. 29 of 26 July 1999 on additional measures to improve labour relations, to strengthen labour and managerial discipline. The Labour Code laid down the conditions for conclusion of fixed-term labour contracts and set their maximum length at five years. Decree No. 29 granted the employer the right to conclude contracts with workers for a minimum term of not less then one year and provided for additional guarantees for employees with whom the contracts had been concluded, such as additional paid holidays and increased wage rates. The Labour Inspectorate, with the participation of trade unions, carried out regular inspections to supervise the use of fixed-term contracts. During the period of January-April 2005, the Labour Inspectorate had examined the application of labour legislation concerning the use of fixed-term contracts in enterprises employing, in total, over 2 million workers. A number of violations had been found, fines had been imposed on 226 employers, and administrative sanctions had been taken against 210 employers. However, in general, it appeared that contracts were concluded in accordance with the legislation in force. She added that workers employed on fixed-term contracts enjoyed the same rights as those employed under indefinite labour agreements, i.e. the right to organize and to collective bargaining and the right to strike. No cases of discrimination in the use of fixed-term contracts had been found. As anti-union discrimination was prohibited under section 14 of the Labour Code, any decision by an employer to conclude a fixed-term contract with an employee based on his or her trade union membership would be illegal.

The recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry paid close attention to the question of the registration of trade unions. The Plan of Action provided for the improvement of the legislation, including the relevant provisions of the law on trade unions. The Government was already working on a concept to make changes to this law. To this effect, the Ministry of Justice had analysed the application of legislation on trade union registration. In particular, all cases of refusal to register primary trade union organizations had been examined. According to the information made available by the Ministry of Justice, as of 1 January 2005, some 20,195 primary trade unions were registered, compared with 1,031 in 2004. The complaints addressed to the ILO mentioned 43 cases of denial of registration of primary trade unions. However, according to the analyses of the Ministry of Justice, in ten cases the primary trade unions had not applied for registration and in six cases, the organizations were duly registered. In only eight cases, the primary organizations, following a denial of registration, had reapplied for the registration, and in only nine cases denial of registration had been appealed in court. However, practice showed that if a decision to deny registration was not based on the legislation, recourse to the courts brought positive results, as illustrated by the registration of a primary trade union of the Belarusian Free Trade Union at the "Alforma" enterprise.

The Government of Belarus was ready to review the situation and take measures relating to any well-founded complaints of violation of trade union rights. However, it could only act within the scope of its competence and could not overturn judicial decisions or bypass the legislation in force.

The Commission of Inquiry had requested the Government to undertake a thorough review of its industrial relations system. To accomplish this task, a special Council of Experts, composed of representatives of the Government, trade unions, employers' organizations, NGOs and academics, had been established by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. Trade union members of this Council were represented by the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus and the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions.

She noted that the Plan of Action and the list of measures to be taken had been submitted to the ILO. The Government had been informing the ILO of the steps taken to implement the recommendations. All further information in this respect would be provided to the Committee on Freedom of Association. In order to give effect to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, the Government was counting on the ILO's technical assistance and consultations had been held with the Office for this purpose, and particularly for the organization of three seminars on international experience on the establishment and registration of trade unions, mechanisms to protect trade union rights and the development of social dialogue. Such seminars would allow a better understanding of the tasks before the Government and the determination of the best approach to be taken to implement the recommendations. The proposal to conduct the seminars had been made by the Belarusian delegation during the Governing Body session in March 2005. Although the possibility of organizing seminars in May 2005 had been discussed, unfortunately, due to the circumstances beyond its control, their organization before the Conference had not been possible. The Government had received a communication from the Office emphasizing the need to discuss this question during the Conference.

In conclusion, she said that her Government had difficult and complex issues to solve, but that concrete steps had already been taken to implement the recommendations of the Commission of the Inquiry. Certain recommendations had already been implemented. Others, which were more complex, including those of legislative nature, needed more effort.

The Worker members said that the Committee of Experts' report recounted the history of the case of Belarus from November 2003, when a Commission of Inquiry had been established by the Governing Body. They emphasized that this was the tenth anniversary of the complaint submitted to the ILO in 1995 by the ICFTU, the WCL, the Free Trade Union of Belarus and the Congress of Democratic Unions of Belarus concerning serious restrictions on the right to strike, the suspension of trade unions by presidential ordinance, serious acts of anti-union discrimination and the arrest and detention of trade union members. On several occasions the Committee on Freedom of Association had examined cases on this subject and the Government had adopted an "empty chair" policy in 1996 and 2002. Despite making occasional progress, Belarus had been the subject of comments by the Committee in 2000, 2001 and 2002, following which the Governing Body had decided to establish a Commission of Inquiry, which had formulated 12 very explicit recommendations.

The Worker members noted the Government's statement that it had adopted a plan of action. The details of this plan, however, should have been revealed much earlier to the parties concerned, with a view to its examination by the Committee. The Government claimed it was establishing a council of experts composed of the Ministry of Labour, trade unions and NGOs, but there was no indication of any measures taken to guarantee that it was of a balanced composition. The Worker members emphasized that the Government alone was responsible for bringing the national legislation into conformity with international labour standards and that in no case could the ILO share this responsibility. They were sceptical about the official information provided.

The Worker members recalled the recommendations made and assistance offered by ILO bodies for several years, to which the Government still had not replied or acted upon. They therefore considered that the comments of the Committee of Experts were still valid, despite the text presented to the Committee by the Government. They also referred to the conclusions of the ILO European Regional Meeting in February 2005 and the position of the European Commission, which might envisage reconsidering the aid allocated to the country in view of the flagrant violations of ILO standards on freedom of association.

In conclusion, the Worker members stated that the situation was too serious for them to be satisfied with promises of action or future requests for assistance. The exercise of any form of independent trade union activity in Belarus was in real danger. They demanded action demonstrating the political will to respect ILO standards and requested the Committee to adopt conclusions which reflected the gravity of the case.

The Employer members thanked the Government representative for the information provided and recalled that the Committee had been discussing the case for over ten years. They indicated that, after listening to the Government representative, they remained somewhat sceptical of the Government's will to give full effect to the Convention at any time in the future. The Government representative had said that measures would be taken in the light of national conditions and bearing in mind its sovereignty. They therefore reminded the Government that almost half a century ago when it ratified the Convention it had made its decisions concerning the issues of sovereignty involved. The Government representative had also stated that some of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry would have to be adapted in the light of national conditions. In this respect, the Employer members recalled that the Convention concerned fundamental workplace standards and the very basic and fundamental issue of freedom of association and the right to organize. Although providing a list of the planned activities, set out in a Plan of Action, the Government representative had indicated that their implementation would take longer than envisaged by the Commission of Inquiry. Moreover, although it had been reported that measures were envisaged to prevent interference by enterprises in trade union activities, the Government representative had made no mention of the issue of interference by the Government, on which the Committee of Experts had expressed deep concern.

The Employer members noted that the Government representative had referred to the development of a concept in relation to this case. However, they emphasized that, in view of all the action taken on the case by various ILO bodies, the concept of what needed to be done should now be fairly clear. The real form of assistance that was required by the Government from the ILO was technical assistance for the drafting of legislation to give effect to the Convention, so that effective measures could be taken to overcome the discrepancies highlighted by the Committee of Experts.

The Worker member of Belarus, on behalf of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FPB), the largest trade union centre in the country, noted that trade union pluralism existed in Belarus, as illustrated by the existence of about 40 trade unions which were either united into two trade union centres or functioned autonomously, and that this fact explained the diversion in the views on the issues discussed by the Conference Committee. He regretted that neither the observations of the Committee of Experts, nor the previous conclusions of the Conference Committee had taken into account the information which was regularly provided by his organization to the ILO, and which testified to the substantive changes undergone by the trade union movement in Belarus during the past few years. For instance, currently no law on labour and social issues could be adopted without consultations with trade unions. The rights of trade unions in the field of monitoring the application of labour legislation were also increased. He underlined that this process involved not only the FPB, but also other trade unions. The tripartite National Council for Labour and Social Issues held regular meetings three to four times per year. The government working group was headed by the First Deputy Prime Minister. This fact testified to the influence trade unions had and to the seriousness with which the Government considered the ILO principle of tripartism. The tripartite General Agreement dealing with the issues of labour, social and economic interests of workers and providing for the protection of trade union activists was an example of promotion of social partnership in the country. In the last six months, about 400 trade unions had been established in the private sector of the economy, mainly in small enterprises, where relations between workers and employers were not always good. All of the abovementioned accomplishments were due to the hard work of trade unions, especially the FPB.

However, he was not completely satisfied with the statement of the Government representative. He understood that, although the process of changing the legislation was by nature a slow one, he considered that the Government was moving too slowly. He also expressed his reservations as concerned the issue of fixed-term labour contracts. The gaps in the legislation on contractual forms of employment allowed employers to act in an arbitrary fashion. The fact that there were no massive violations in the use of this type of employment was only due to the fact that the legislation was supplemented by the abovementioned General Agreement. However, this Agreement was not an act of legislation but rather of a recommendatory nature. He called on the Government to adopt a legislative act, the draft of which was prepared by the unions at the beginning of this year.

The speaker welcomed the Plan of Action adopted by the Government to implement the recommendations of the ILO Commission of Inquiry and thought that this would contribute to the improvement of social and labour legislation, particularly because this process would involve the active participation of trade unions. Establishment of the Council on the questions of improvement of social and labour legislation was another important step, and the active participation of trade unions in this body would make the work on the amendment of legislation on establishment and functioning of trade unions even more productive. He concluded by stressing the need for ILO technical assistance in implementing the Plan of Action.

The Government member of the United States indicated that the 2004 observation had confirmed and expanded upon the concerns that the Committee of Experts and the Conference Committee had been raising for many years. These concerns included requirements of law that affected uniquely those unions that were outside the structures of the FPB or opposed its leadership. These requirements gave rise to apprehensions that they were being applied intentionally to suppress independent unions, in flagrant violation of the provisions of the Convention. The Commission of Inquiry documented numerous examples of this and the experts noted with deep concern reports from the Congress of Democratic Trade Unions that proposed amendments to the Law on Trade Unions would further strengthen what was a de facto state-controlled trade union monopoly in Belarus.

The Commission of Inquiry had made 12 very specific recommendations to the Government of Belarus, most of which should have been implemented by the time this Conference had convened, but were not. The speaker called upon the Government of Belarus to implement all of the Commission of Inquiry recommendations in full and without further delay. The recent election of the Government of Belarus to a regular seat on the ILO Governing Body made it all the more imperative that the Government demonstrated by its actions that it was committed to the principles the ILO stood for. Among these principles, none was more fundamental than the right of workers and employers to establish democratic organizations of their own choosing, free from the interference of governments and government-dominated organizations enjoying virtual monopoly status under laws that contravened ratified ILO Conventions.

The speaker noted that the ILO, with support from her Government and others, was attempting to ensure that independent trade unionism in Belarus survived a sustained assault by the Government of Belarus, which was well-documented in the report of the Commission of Inquiry. The Committee of Experts had warned that the survival of any form of independent trade union movement in Belarus was truly at risk. She stressed that everything possible should be done to ensure that this warning did not come true. The workers of Belarus deserved no less than workers everywhere: trade unions that spoke for them, were accountable to them, and were free from government interference.

The Government member of Cuba expressed surprise at the inclusion of Belarus in the list of countries because of the short period of time since the presentation of the report of the Commission of Inquiry and the Government's reply. Instead, progress in the application of the Plan of Action by the Government should be evaluated depending on what was contained in its next report. The Government had not had sufficient time to take all legislative and administrative action to apply the Plan of Action, whose objective was the restructuring of the entire system of labour and social relations in the country. In addition, account should be taken of the written information supplied by the Government to the Conference Committee. The draft Law on Employers' Organizations had been forwarded to the ILO for comments. Also, the Labour Inspectorate had visited enterprises employing in total more than 2 million workers and recorded more than 1,000 violations, sanctioned 226 enterprises, but had not found any anti-union activities. Account should be taken of the fact that the Government fully supported the Commission of Inquiry. However, the time allowed for compliance with recommendations was not enough. The Government had requested ILO technical assistance. Such technical assistance would facilitate application of the measures contained in the Plan of Action.

The Government member of Luxembourg, speaking on behalf of the Member States of the European Union, as well as Bulgaria and Romania as countries in the accession process; Turkey and Croatia as candidate countries; Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro, countries of the process of stabilization and association and potential candidates; Norway, EFTA country member of the European Economic Area; as well as Ukraine and Switzerland; recalled that in its statement during the 291st Session of the Governing Body (November 2004), the European Union had expressed serious concern about the situation in Belarus as regards adherence to democratic principles, human rights and respect for the rule of law, as well as the non-fulfilment of its international commitments. The European Union had called upon the Government of Belarus to fully implement all 12 recommendations made by the Commission of Inquiry without delay and within the deadlines set in the report.

The EU remained deeply concerned by the observations of the Committee of Experts following the conclusions of the Commission of Inquiry. The Committee of Experts stated that the survival of any form of an independent trade union movement in Belarus was truly at risk.

The EU was closely monitoring the situation in Belarus, where the lack of progress could result in the temporary withdrawal of benefits under the Generalised System of Preferences. In this context, the EU was deeply concerned by the findings of the report of the investigation carried out by the European Commission, which highlighted serious and systematic violations of the most basic principles of freedom of association in Belarus. These findings were consistent with the conclusions of the Commission of Inquiry and the observations of the Committee of Experts.

The EU further noted the Government's information concerning steps taken or envisaged including the reference to a Plan of Action with a view to implementing the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry. The EU expected the Government of Belarus to fully implement the conclusions of the Commission of Inquiry and to give full effect in law and in practice to all the points raised by the Committee of Experts on the application of the Convention. The EU called for a meaningful and constructive dialogue between the ILO and the Government of Belarus in order to guarantee the full implementation of the recommendations of the Commission. These were essential, not only for the protection of workers and their rights, but also for the development of democracy.

The Government member of the Russian Federation considered that the Government of Belarus had made efforts to resolve the problems raised by the Commission of Inquiry and the Committee of Experts. As concerned the most important but very complex issue of legislation, the work was being carried out, but needed a certain amount of time. In this connection, all the relevant technical assistance from the Office would be of great importance. He emphasized the willingness of the Government of Belarus to cooperate with the ILO and considered that the situation was developing in the right direction and that adequate solutions would be soon found.

An observer of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and President of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (CDTU)) stated that the list of violations of trade union rights in Belarus continued to grow and included the denial of registration of about 30 independent trade unions, the requirements of legal address and of 10 per cent minimum membership to establish a trade union, harassment, detentions, dismissals and transfers of trade union leaders and union members and the continuing denial of the CDTU's right to participate in the meetings of the National Council for Labour and Social Issues. As far as freedom of association was concerned, the situation in Belarus had considerably worsened. Eight members of trade unions who had testified before the Commission of Inquiry had been fired. The acts of pressure exerted on trade unions and their members to leave their unions intensified as hundreds of persons had been called in by the local authorities and threatened with non-renewal of their labour contracts and reprisals by the police. During these meetings, explicit reference had been made to the Presidential Instructions. The registration of the Radio and Electronics, Automobile and Agricultural Machinery Workers' Union had been denied, as was the registration of a trade union in Mogilev due to a problem with the legal address. The State mass media, the only media that existed in the country, treated the independent trade unions as "enemies of the people" and "traitors sponsored by western bosses". He doubted that the Government would implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, as was already demonstrated by the continuous refusal of the Government to implement recommendations of other ILO supervisory bodies. He considered that the Plan of Action was a clear attempt by the Government to evade its responsibilities as no Plan of Action could replace the good will needed to ensure respect for trade union rights in Belarus.

The Government member of Myanmar congratulated the Government of Belarus for its efforts in cooperating with the Commission of Inquiry and for adopting an appropriate National Plan of Action. His Government was encouraged to learn that the Government of Belarus had developed a draft law on associations of the employers. His Government also noted the commitment of the Government of Belarus to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry and to cooperate with the ILO. The ongoing constructive engagement between the Government of Belarus and the ILO was therefore supported.

The Government member of China noted that the Government of Belarus was taking positive steps to give effect to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry and had made progress in this respect. The Government had also reiterated its willingness to cooperate with the ILO. What was needed at this stage was the provision of technical support by the ILO and the international community to the Government. Such help would enable the Government and the social partners to jointly put the Plan of Action into practice so as to implement the Convention.

The Government representative explained that her Government had approached the Office with a request to hold three seminars on international experience with the establishment and registration of trade unions, mechanisms to protect trade union rights and the development of social dialogue. Such seminars would provide additional knowledge on freedom of association principles and would allow a better understanding of the tasks before the Government and the determination of the best approach to be taken to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry. She emphasized that her Government fully understood its responsibility to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry. The Plan of Action was based on the list of concrete measures to be taken in this respect. Its first stage had been already carried out and the Government was currently working on its second stage. The Government maintained contacts with the ILO and would continue to provide further information to the Committee on Freedom of Association. In line with Recommendation No. 12, the Government had established an expert council on the development of social and labour legislation. Trade union members of this Council were represented by the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus and the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions.

In regard to the concern expressed over the adaptation of the implementation of the Commission's recommendations to the reality of Belarus, she stated that in Belarus, as in many other countries, the principle of separation of power prevented the Government from acting outside of the scope of its competence.

With respect to the question of anti-union discrimination, although her Government understood the need to improve the machinery of protection against of acts of anti-union discrimination, currently all workers who felt themselves victims of discrimination, in accordance with section 14 of the Labour Code, had the right to appeal to courts.

Social dialogue was recognized in Belarus. The Government, workers' and employers' organizations cooperated and worked together in the Committee on Improvement of Labour Legislation and the National Council on Social and Labour Issues. She pointed out that the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (CDTU) along with the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FPB) were both members of the National Council, despite the fact that the FPB was a much larger organization, and explained that if the membership of the Council was to be determined by the number of members, the CDTU would not be able to become the member of the Council.

The Government representative pointed out the achievement of the Government in the sphere of social protection and employment policy. She concluded by stating that freedom of association was guaranteed by the Constitution and recognized by other legislative acts. Her Government was open to dialogue and ready to accept ILO assistance in order to improve the situation. It had already adopted a certain number of measures and would continue to do so.

The Worker members remarked that the Government had presented the situation in terms that brought its credibility into question. For instance, it had accepted to review labour legislation in cooperation with the ILO, but only on condition that the recommendations made to it be congruent with its policies. Over the last ten years in Belarus, independent trade unionism had gradually disappeared. Currently, the Government had put a Plan of Action into operation, but without stipulating its content. It claimed that it was fighting precariousness of jobs through extension of fixed-term contracts, but the reality completely negated these claims. It had made no reply on the non-respect of the immunity of persons who had provided information to the Commission of Inquiry; nor on the number of trade unions that had nonetheless obtained their registration without having to enter the structures of the FPB. It had also made no response to the fact that the Congress of Democratic Trade Unions had not been invited to sit with the Group of Experts on legislative reforms, despite having announced the setting up of this latter to the ILO Governing Body six months ago. The Worker members had asked that the conclusions reflect the fact that this case constituted a continuing failure to implement the Convention and that an impartial evaluation of the situation was required, in conformity with each of the points raised in the report of the EU.

The Employer members maintained the scepticism they had expressed in their opening remarks as to the real prospects of resolving this case rapidly. They recalled that the Government had ratified the Convention 49 years ago and expressed the wish that the Government would resolve all problems at hand before the 50th anniversary of the ratification. The Plan of Action announced by the Government representative was reminiscent of similar plans announced in the past and the Committee should not be prepared to accept another delay. The momentum should be maintained for the swift adoption of measures for the full implementation of the Convention. In this regard, the Employer members took note of the Government representative's statement that her country needed technical assistance from the ILO on advice in drafting the statutory provisions necessary to bring the law into line with the Convention. The Employer members agreed with the Worker members that this case was serious and indeed, a special case, given that the institution of a Commission of Inquiry was a rare event which occurred only in serious circumstances. The Employer members considered that the Government should be given credit for its intention to address several issues. Thus, the case should be included in a special paragraph in the Committee's report but should not be referred to as a case of continuous failure to implement the Convention.

The Committee took note of the written information supplied by the Government, the statement made by the Government representative, the Deputy Minister of Labour, and the discussion that took place thereafter. The Committee noted from the comments of the Committee of Experts that the Commission of Inquiry submitted its report to the Governing Body at its 291st Session in November 2004. The Committee recalls that the conclusions and recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry concerned the application of rules and regulations relating to the activities of trade unions and other public associations in a manner amounting to a condition of previous authorization for the formation of unions and with an impact uniquely upon those unions outside of the traditional trade union federation or which oppose it, contrary to Article 2 of the Convention; the non-con-formity of the law on mass activities, and its application, with Article 3 of the Convention and of Presidential Decree No. 8 on measures for receiving and using foreign free aid with Articles 5 and 6 of the Convention. The Committee, like the Committee of Experts, further notes with deep concern the information concerning proposed amendments to the law on trade unions aimed at substantially increasing the requirements for trade union registration at various levels.

The Committee noted the Government's indication according to which it has adopted an appropriate plan of action to give effect to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry and that it has submitted to all interested parties an Explanatory Letter on the norms and provisions of international and domestic legislation. The Government also indicated that the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry were published in a magazine of the Ministry of Labour, which is sent to almost all enterprises in the country. It also referred to an experts' council established to review the labour legislation, which included in its composition the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FPB) and the Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (CDTU).

The Committee expressed its grave concern at the serious discrepancies between the law and practice on the one hand and the provisions of the Convention on the other, which it considered seriously threatened the survival of any form of an independent trade union movement in Belarus. It deplored the fact that no real concrete and tangible measures had yet been taken to resolve the vital matters raised by the Committee of Experts and the Commission of Inquiry, including as regards a number of recommendations made by the latter that were to have been implemented by 1 June 2005. It urged the Government to take the necessary measures immediately to ensure that full freedom of association was ensured in law and in practice so that workers could freely form and join organizations of their own choosing and carry out their activities without interference by the public authorities and to ensure that independent trade unions were not the subject of harassment and intimidation. Furthermore, the Committee supported the recommendation made by the Commission of Inquiry that the presidential administration issue instructions to the Prosecutor-General, the Minister of Justice and court administrators, that any complaints of external interference made by trade unions should be thoroughly investigated, and considered that such steps aimed at ensuring truly effective guarantees for the rights enshrined in the Convention would further benefit from the Government's implementation of the recommendations made by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. The Committee requested the Government to provide a full report on all measures taken to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry for examination by the Committee of Experts at its next meeting.

The Committee further urged the Government to accept a mission from the Office to assist in the drafting of the legislative amendments requested by the Commission of Inquiry and to evaluate the measures taken by the Government to implement fully the Commission's recommendations.

The Committee decided to include its conclusions in a special paragraph of its general report.