Maksim Pazniakou: “Social dialogue is impossible without trade union freedoms”
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Deputy Chair of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP) Maksim Pazniakou took part in the 39th Panhellenic Congress of the Greek General Confederation of Labour (GSEE), held on 16–18 April 2026 in Heraklion. During the international event on collective bargaining and social dialogue, he raised the issue of the continuing repression of workers and independent trade unions in Belarus.
Speaking at the session “Collective Bargaining and Social Dialogue” on 16 April, Maksim Pazniakou stressed that genuine social dialogue is impossible without two fundamental rights: freedom of association and the right to strike.
He noted that without the freedom to form independent trade unions, workers remain isolated and deprived of any real collective power. At the same time, without the right to strike, negotiations lose their substance, because employers and the authorities have no real incentive to compromise. In this sense, he underlined, trade union organisation and the ability to take collective action are inseparable pillars of any meaningful system of social dialogue.GSEE offices in Athens [Photo: GSEE]
As an example, Pazniakou referred to the situation in Belarus, where independent trade unions have been destroyed, their leaders and activists imprisoned, and any form of collective protest suppressed. Under such conditions, so-called “social dialogue” may still exist on paper, but in reality it is only an imitation, with workers deprived of any effective means of defending their interests.
He also drew attention to the broader international context, warning that labour standards and international law are increasingly ignored when they become politically inconvenient. Governments, he said, are more and more often using arguments such as “security” and “sovereignty” to justify attacks on trade unions, strikes and civil liberties. As a result, workers’ rights are becoming more fragile across the world.
Today, 17 April, the congress is continuing with its plenary session, including video messages from ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle and ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch, as well as an address by GSEE President Yannis Panagopoulos and discussion of the activity report and proposed action plan.
BKDP’s participation in the GSEE Congress reflects the continued effort of the Belarusian democratic trade union movement to strengthen international solidarity and to ensure that the repression of workers’ rights in Belarus remains visible at the highest level of the trade union movement.
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