On 30–31 January, Bremen hosted an international trade union conference, held there for the fourth time and traditionally bringing together friends and allies of the independent Belarusian trade unions. This year, the event gathered trade union leaders and representatives of international and national unions from Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America.

On 26 January, a meeting took place at the Bremen City Hall between Aliaksandr Yarashuk, Chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), and Andreas Bovenschulte, President of the Federal Council of Germany and Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. The meeting was also attended by representatives of Salidarnast e.V. and Christian Wechselbaum, head of the Bremen branch of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB).

In his interview to gazetaby.com, Maksim Senik, an activist of the Belarusian Independent Union (BNP) at the Hrodna Azot fertilizer plant tells what a man who dares to express his own point of view and speak against unjust actions of the authorities has to go through in today‘s Belarus.

Maryna Zolatava, editor-in-Chief of TUT.BY, was released from prison on 13 December 2025. On 11 January 2026, she published her first Facebook post since her release, sharing memories of the women she was imprisoned with. Among them were representatives of the independent labour movement.

Today in Vilnius, a meeting took place between IndustriALL Global Union General Secretary Atle Høie and and Assistant General Secretary Kemal Özkan with Belarusian trade union leaders – Henadz Fiadynich, longtime head of the Belarusian Radio and Electronics Industry Workers’ Union (REP), which is part of IndustriALL, and Aliaksandr Yarashuk, Chairman of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP).

Millions of workers around the world today work in the platform economy. Their work is regulated by digital platforms. Examples of such work are familiar to everyone: food delivery, passenger transport, courier services, freelance workers, and others. Many platforms argue that they are merely intermediaries between clients and independent contractors, but in reality they control the working conditions, pay, and number of working hours.

Yesterday, when new information and footage appeared showing Ukrainian buses, I caught myself experiencing a strange clarity. Perhaps, for the first time since the first similar release of political prisoners, everything seemed to fall into place.

Today, December 13, it was announced that 123 political prisoners were released in Belarus. Among those released are Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski, former banker Viktar Babaryka, Maryia Kalesnikava, Maksim Znak, Pavel Seviarynets, TUT.BY editor-in-chief Marina Zolatava, political scientist Alexander Feduta, human rights activist Uladzimir Labkovich, Alena Hnauk, and others.

On December 10, International Human Rights Day, Volha Brytsikava, former leader of the primary organization of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union at OJSC Naftan, received the Human Rights Solidarity Award. The Belarusian Human Rights Association presented the award to her for her steadfastness, principles, and ongoing defense of workers' rights despite pressure and repression.

On December 6, at the Bremen Trade Union House, Salidarnast e.V. held an event as part of the international campaign “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence.” Participants included activists from Belarusian independent trade unions and their families, as well as guests from various cities – Bremen, Warsaw, Frankfurt am Main, and Hanover.