ITUC General Secretary names Aliaksandr Yarashuk’s release among the trade union movement’s key achievements

In an interview with ACTRAV INFO on trade union resilience amid growing global instability, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) General Secretary Luc Triangle highlighted the release of Aliaksandr Yarashuk, Chair of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), as one of the most significant achievements of the international trade union movement in 2025.

Председатель БКДП Александра Ярошука, интервью после осовобождения // photo - svaboda.org

Reflecting on the “defining moments” of the past year, Triangle stressed that union solidarity campaigns helped secure the release of the Belarusian trade union leader and kept global attention on repression in a number of countries. The interview underlines that in a context marked by authoritarianism, conflict, deepening inequality and sustained pressure on democracy, trade unions have continued to act and “rebuild power under pressure,” defending democratic space and fundamental workers’ rights.

Triangle also outlined major challenges facing trade unions in 2026: an intensifying, coordinated assault on democracy, workers’ rights and multilateral institutions by far-right forces, authoritarian governments and billionaire-corporate interests.

According to Triangle, the ITUC’s strategic framework for 2026 is the Fight for Democracy—defending fundamental rights within the ILO, strengthening international labour standards and supervisory mechanisms, and stepping up support for organising and solidarity, especially where unions face repression.

The agenda also includes the International Labour Conference in June 2026, where key debates are expected on regulating the platform economy, reinforcing social dialogue and tripartism, and advancing gender equality at work—alongside continued attention to the situation in Belarus.

As the interview shows, repression in Belarus remains firmly on the radar of the global trade union movement. At the same time, dozens of trade union leaders and activists remain behind bars in Belarusian prisons—and our position is unchanged: freedom for all political prisoners, including trade unionists

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