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.

A session of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Governing Body concluded its work in Geneva; the GB discussed the situation in Belarus, among other things.

On November 24 in Helsinki, a meeting of the Baltic Sea Trade Union Network (BASTUN) was held, dedicated to issues of social, democratic, and defense security in the region. National trade union from Baltic countries, experts, and representatives of international trade unions took part in the discussion. Belarus was also represented at the event.

Michelle O’Neil, President of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), met with the leader of the Belarusian democratic opposition, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, during her visit to Australia. She shared news of the meeting on her Instagram page, describing Tsikhanouskaya as “an inspiring and fearless voice for a free and democratic Belarus.”