Belarusian independent trade unions take part in ‘Solidarity Without Borders’ conference
Siarhei Antusevich, Deputy Chair of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), took part in the international conference Solidarity Without Borders — Historical Traditions and Contemporary Challenges, held on 30 September in the historic hall of the Gdańsk Shipyard.
The conference marked the 45th anniversary of the famous Message to the Working People of Eastern Europe issued by Poland’s Solidarity movement. In 1981, Polish trade unionists addressed workers across the communist bloc with a message of support and a call to fight for free trade unions and workers’ rights. Forty-five years later, participants discussed how relevant the principles of international trade union solidarity remain today.
The event brought together trade union activists, historians, politicians, experts and representatives from Central and Eastern European countries. Alongside Siarhei Antusevich, the international discussion included representatives from Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, as well as Yury Ravavy, a representative of Rabochy Rukh. Polish colleagues stressed that shared values and mutual support had been among the main strengths of the Solidarity movement.
A separate focus of the discussion with Siarhei Antusevich was the importance of solidarity between trade unions when an independent labour movement is confronted with authoritarianism and political repression. For Belarus, this is not merely a historical issue, but an immediate practical reality. Independent trade unions inside the country have been liquidated, their leaders and activists have faced persecution, and independent trade union activity has effectively been pushed out of the legal sphere.
The Belarusian experience shows that international trade union solidarity becomes particularly important when national mechanisms for protecting labour and trade union rights cease to function. In such circumstances, support from colleagues in other countries, joint campaigns, international advocacy and sustained attention to persecuted activists become some of the few effective tools available to defend the independent trade union movement.
As participants at the conference noted, the central message of the Polish Solidarity movement’s 1981 appeal — “You are not alone. Change is possible” — remains relevant decades later.
Source: tysol.pl
Comments