Babruisk court turns down claim by trade union activists

Babruisk District Court completed today the consideration of a lawsuit brought by members of the Free Trade Union’s office at the local plant of tractor parts and units (TDiA) against representatives of the administration of the enterprise. It was the third hearing of a claim lodged to demand payments of quarterly bonuses.

“Employees can be deprived of bonuses only for being drunk or under the influence of drugs, theft, bringing alcohol to the enterprise, or absence from without a valid reason,” says Mikhail Kavalkou, chairman of the independent trade union’s office. “Members of the FTU have not violated these rules, but they did not get the bonuses. And the fact that workers were not even warned that they were punished is nonsense!”

Andrei Valatkovich, head of the factory’s legal department, says that "it is an extra bonus, so it is not subject to the general rules."

“The decision not to pay bonuses was taken after violations were considered, including registers of labor safety control. A preliminary list was given to the plant management, and then the decision was signed by the enterprise head,” says head of the factory’s labor safety department Mikhail Karaliou.

As a result, Prosecutor Tatsiana Khmialeuskaya suggested dismissing the case “because the plaintiffs failed to meet the pre-trial procedures," that is, the complaint was not considered by the commission for labor disputes. Meanwhile, she took into account only the testimony of the employer, who argued that the meeting of the commission did not take place because of the free trade union activists.

Judge Tamara Karpouskaya fully supported the Prosecutor, noting that in labor disputes the commission’s decision is a mandatory procedure.

However, Mikhail Kavalkou keeps insisting that the meeting of the commission for labor disputes was disrupted by the TDiA administration. He said he would appeal against the decision of the local court in the Regional Court.