The international trade union platform LabourStart has launched a global campaign calling for the immediate release of Hong Kong trade union leader Lee Cheuk-yan and activist Chow Hang-tung. The campaign began on 11 September together with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI), Education International (EI), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Hong Kong Labour Rights Monitor.

An event dedicated to political repression in Belarus, imprisoned trade union activists and the role of international solidarity was held in Hanover. The meeting was organised by the German trade union IG BCE and Salidarnast e.V.

On 1 September, three employees of the Kalinkavichyvodokanal branch died in Kalinkavichy, Belarus: a 44-year-old site manager and two fitters aged 43 and 37.

German television has aired the documentary “Belarus – Geschäfte mit einer Diktatur?” (“Belarus – Doing Business with a Dictatorship?”), examining how European companies continue to do business with Belarus, directly or indirectly, despite the EU’s sanctions policy.

According to the official Telegram channel of Belaruskali, a mining foreman, Dzmitry Piatrovich, was injured at Mine No. 2 while inspecting longwall workings after a roof fall. He later died in hospital.

According to the official Telegram channel of Belaruskali, a mining foreman, Dzmitry Piatrovich, was injured at Mine No. 2 while inspecting longwall workings after a roof fall. He later died in hospital.

The 71-year-old activist of Belarus’s independent trade union movement, like many of his colleagues, was detained on 19 April 2022. Nine months later, he was convicted under three articles of the Criminal Code and sentenced to eight years’ imprisonment in a high-security penal colony. During his time behind bars, Vatslau Areshka’s eyesight has deteriorated severely: alongside other health problems, he has now almost completely lost his sight.

On 7 August, representatives of the local IG Metall branch in Bremerhaven held an information picket aimed at engaging Ukrainian and Russian-speaking residents of the city with the trade union movement and informing them about ways to protect their rights and interests at work. Representatives of Salidarnast e.V., an association of Belarusian independent trade unionists in exile, also took part in the action.

Lukashenka has decided to use the army as a tool of punishment for failures in agriculture. After instructing the authorities to send “negligent” participants in the harvest campaign to serve as ordinary soldiers on the southern border, Defence Minister Viktar Khrenin reported on how his ministry intended to carry out the order. Siarhei Antusevich, Deputy Chair of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), described the initiative as absurd.

The new Regulation on the National Council on Gender Policy reveals how the Belarusian authorities understand public dialogue. Put simply, they are discussing gender equality with themselves.