Forced labor to become a norm in the Shklou district?

In December, the Shklou District Police Department, the "Zhylkamhas" enterprise and the labor, employment and social defense bureauof the Shklou District Executive Committee held a joint action under the label "labor therapy".

27 unemployed people who have been put on the prophylactic register of the DPD, were forced to clear the yards of Shklou from snow.

The information about it was published in the Shklou district newspaper "Udarny Front" (issue #1 of 5 January 2013). According to the journalist, the aim of the action was to "promote labor discipline among the jobless, those who did not want to work for the benefit of the society, those standing on the register at DPDs. As a rule, these are people who abuse alcohol, have committed crimes and have prior convictions."

After the "labor therapy" the forced workers were gathered in the hall of the DPD, where officials of the executive committee, the DPD and the prosecutor of the Shklou districts told them about the problems of alcoholism, asocial behavior, social parasitism and urged them to change their way of life and start working. The DPD administration and the prosecutor issued official warnings about the inadmissibility of repeated violations of the law and also issued directions for employment in the organizations of Shklou and the Shklou district.

According to "Udarny Front", the Shklou DPD stated its intention to hold such "prophylactic events" every week. It looks like the officials working in Lukashenka's native district like using socially unprotected people as free labor force.

Bear in mind, that at the end of November people with prior convictions were forced to clean the Shklou park within the framework of the action "Step towards". Nobody asked their agreement. It was stated that the action was aimed at social adaptation of the former convicts. It was announced that such actions would be held every month. However, the Shklou officials and policemen seem to like unpaid labor so much that soon they decided to direct people to forced labor every week, extending the list of the possible activities.