Belarusian trade union representatives discuss implementation of ILO Article 33 in Oslo
Representatives of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions and Salidarnast took part in a series of meetings in Oslo focused on freedom of association for workers in Belarus and the implementation of decisions by the International Labour Organization.
The Belarusian delegation included BKDP Deputy Chair Maksim Pazniakou and Salidarnast Executive Director Lizaveta Merliak. The working visit took place from 28 to 30 October together with representatives of Myanmar’s independent trade union movement — Confederation of Trade Unions Myanmar President Maung Maung and Industrial Workers’ Federation of Myanmar President Khaing Zar Aung.
The central theme of the visit was Article 33 of the ILO Constitution. Belarus and Myanmar are in an exceptional position: in both cases, the ILO has invoked one of its strongest mechanisms following years of failure to implement the recommendations of Commissions of Inquiry. In more than a century of the organisation’s history, Article 33 has been invoked only three times.
In Oslo, trade union representatives from Belarus and Myanmar took part in a meeting with representatives of the ILO committee. It is a tripartite body bringing together government, trade unions and employers. The ILO itself has previously recommended that member states use national tripartite mechanisms to implement decisions under Article 33.
For the Belarusian delegation, the main interest was the discussion of how ILO decisions can work in practice. Independent trade unions in Belarus have been liquidated, some trade union activists remain in prison, while others face criminal prosecution or have been forced to continue their work in exile. Despite the use of Article 33, there have so far been no fundamental changes inside the country.
On 29 October, an open meeting entitled “When trade union activity becomes a crime — voices from Belarus and Myanmar” was also held at Folkets hjørne in Oslo and organised by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, LO.
Alongside Maksim Pazniakou and Lizaveta Merliak, the discussion included Maung Maung and Khaing Zar Aung, NHO employers’ representative Kristine Østrem Alsvig and YS trade union representative Rolf Vestvik.
The discussion was not limited to the situation of trade unions in Belarus and Myanmar. Participants discussed what the independent trade union movement expects from Norway and the international community, and what role governments, trade unions and employers can play in implementing ILO decisions.
Ahead of the visit, LO, YS and Unio set out a joint position of the Norwegian trade union movement: the imprisonment of trade union leaders concerns more than just the organisations directly targeted by repression. “When trade union leaders are imprisoned, it is an attack on all of us,” the three trade union centres said, calling on Norway to support independent trade unions in Belarus and Myanmar “not only with words, but with action”.
The comparison between Belarus and Myanmar during the visit was not accidental. In both countries, independent trade unions have faced repression, prison sentences and forced exile, while the national authorities continue to challenge or ignore the demands of the ILO’s supervisory bodies.
It is precisely this shared experience that is bringing trade unionists from Belarus and Myanmar closer together, along with trade union leaders from Hong Kong who have been forced into exile. The need to unite and act together for workers’ rights in their own countries is becoming increasingly clear, particularly at a time when authoritarian regimes have long been building ties and supporting one another internationally.
The Oslo visit continued the work of Belarusian independent trade unions to bring the issue of Article 33 from the international level to the national level.
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