Hrodna “Azot” Company Forces Employees to Leave Independent Labor Union and Join Official One

According to the web-site of the Labor Union Movement of Belarus, director general of “Hrodna Azot” Company Alexander Radzevich gathered a meeting of all company’s employees. He tried to persuade the workers to leave the independent trade union and join the state-controlled “Belarusian Union of Chemical Industry”. Workers refuse to change their affiliation, although the company administration made it clear that members of the independent trade union would lose their jobs.
The company is struggling with the independent trade union since January 2006. According to Siarhei Antusevich, chairperson of a primary organization of the trade union, activists are either laid off or transferred to other workshops. The pressure from the company’s administration significantly reduced the number of the trade union’s members by half. The administration also delays signing of a collective agreement with the independent trade union.