Independent trade unions of Belarus took part in the May Day rally in Bremen

On 1 May, representatives of the Belarusian trade union movement united within BKDP took part in the rally marking the International Workers’ Day of Solidarity, held in Bremen and organised by DGB Bremen.

Around 4,500 people took part in the event. The demonstration marched through the city and ended at Bremen’s main square — Market Square (Marktplatz). Former political prisoner and Chair of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, Aliaksandr Yarashuk, marched together with the participants.

At the square, Salidarnast set up a tent with campaign materials and the symbols of Belarus’s independent trade unions. There, participants in the demonstration signed postcards that will be sent to Belarusian trade union political prisoner Volha Brytsikava and Hong Kong trade union leader Lee Cheuk-yan. This action was organised jointly by Salidarnast, the German trade union IG Metall, and Amnesty International.

After speeches by German trade union leaders, the floor was given to Aliaksandr Yarashuk, who addressed Belarusian workers. He told participants about what is happening in Belarus today, the ongoing repression against workers and independent trade unions, and the work that BKDP and Salidarnast are carrying out in exile.

Yarashuk thanked German workers and trade unions for their solidarity with the Belarusian labour movement. In his speech, he also recalled imprisoned trade union activists — Volha Brytsikava, Vatslau Areshka, and Aliaksandr Kapshul — and stressed that BKDP and Salidarnast continue to fight for their release, as well as for the freedom of another 17 trade union activists who remain behind bars.

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