Conversations on Belarus Column - Global Labour University

Conversations on Belarus

“Conversations on Belarus” is a column on the Global Labour University website where we publish important materials on the situation of workers’ rights in Belarus.

It contains English translations of the most important articles originally published in independent Belarusian media, as well as materials prepared in cooperation with the trade union movement in exile.

We inform the international community about the fate of trade union political prisoners, the repression of independent trade unions, the role of trade unions loyal to the regime and the hidden mechanisms of repression faced by workers. We will try to give a voice to those who are being silenced in Belarus today. We hope that these materials will be of interest to those who find themselves in a similar situation regarding workers’ rights.

Our stories are testimonies of resilience, solidarity and the struggle for human dignity. With “Conversations on Belarus”, we invite you to join an international dialogue and strengthen global support for those who continue to fight for justice. This section may be of interest to researchers working on authoritarian regimes and workers’ struggles.

Educational workers and the state oppression system

Key figures controlling university HR policies are KGB officers

What goes on today in the higher education system of Belarus?

How universities try to tackle teacher shortage

“Higher education institutions are on short HR rations today”. What goes on in the higher education system of Belarus?

Federation of trade Unions of Belarus: the challenge to the freedom of association in Belarus

Government officials, army generals, and ideologists: who are the leaders of the Trade Union Federation of Belarus

We continue exploring what the current Trade Union Federation of Belarus is about. The next topic in line is the FPB’s HR policy.

How FPB became a tool for putting pressure on students in Belarus

“Salidarnast” continues exploring what the current Trade Union Federation of Belarus is about. The next episode is the FPB activities in the HE students' setting.

Trade Union Federation of Belarus defends interests of authorities rather than workers

We continue exploring what the FPB is about. Let us look at how it defends the interests of its members.

How Trade Union Federation of Belarus became a cog in the State machinery

The FPB has turned into a tool of political control.

How pro-Government unions help employers manipulate workers

What goes on in the higher education system of Belarus?

Trade unionists behind the bars: Political prisoners

Volha Brytsikava: Why a union leader was declared “terrorist”

Currently, there are 29 union leaders and activists doing time in Belarusian prisons. The “Salidarnast” Association starts a series of publications telling the stories of some of those political prisoners.

When fighting for rights is seen as crime: what charges did Yarashuk face

These days, the Governing Body of the International Labour Office (ILO) holds its meeting in Geneva. The meeting participants can see a place card there with the name of Aliaksandr Yarashuk...

Vatslau Areshka, a man with a spine

In January this year, the political prisoner, a renowned union activist, turned 70.

“I’ve defended what I believe in”: fate of political prisoner Aliaksandr Kashpul

Today, there are 29 union leaders and activists doing time in Belarusian prisons and penal colonies. ”Salidarnast” continues its cycle of publications, telling the stories of some of these political prisoners.

A Stairway to Heaven: the story of Siarhei Shelest

Today, there are 29 union leaders and activists lingering in Belarusian prisons. “Saldarnast” continues with its cycle of publications, telling the stories of some of them.