The coalition of Belarusian NGOs and the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions presented an analytical report on the situation of human rights in the sphere of labor, intended for the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus.
In order to prepare its own report to the UN General Assembly in October 2025, the Special Rapporteur was requesting information on how the situation of human rights in Belarus in the sphere of labor has developed over the past few years.
The report was prepared by:
- Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions
- Association of Belarusian Business Abroad
- Barys Zvozskau Belarusian Human Rights House
- Belarusian Helsinki Committee
- Lawtrend
- Office for the Rights of People with Disabilities
- PEN Belarus
- Project “Right to Defence”
- Rabochy Rukh
- Human Rights Center “Viasna”
The overall coordination of the report was conducted by the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions.
Report
In their report, the coalition of Belarusian NGOs and the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions informed the Special Rapporteur about the situation with the entire spectrum of labor rights in the country and proposed recommendations that would be useful to address to the Belarusian authorities and the international community from the standpoint of labor standards and human rights.
The authors of the report note that systemic and large-scale violations of labor rights are observed in Belarus, affecting a wide range of workers.
The main issues include the actual elimination of freedom of association through the liquidation of all independent trade unions, persecution of civil society activists and members of independent trade unions, mass dismissals and pressure on workers disloyal to the government, including for political reasons. Former political prisoners, lawyers, women, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups are discriminated against in employment and at the workplace. Forced labor is widely used in the penitentiary system, medical and labor dispensaries, in the form of mandatory “Saturday volunteer labour” activities (“subbotniki”) and “socially useful work”, stigmatization and the imposition of additional property burdens on so-called “able-bodied citizens not employed in the economy”.
Politicization of the personnel policy is widespread at state-owned enterprises: there are positions of deputy ideologists – KGB officers, along with practice of searches and arrests that take place right at the workplace. Employers also force employees to sign pledges of “disloyalty to extremist activity.” At the same time, the state-controlled Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus and its pro-government trade unions remain silent about the committed violations and actively cooperate with the authorities to repress workers.
The report contains the following topics and recommendations:
- International obligations of the Republic of Belarus and cooperation with international human rights mechanisms – to faithfully implement the recommendations of UN institutions on the issue of freedom of association, peaceful assembly, expression of opinions; fully implement the Recommendations of the ILO Commission of Inquiry, and also faithfully cooperate with the ILO within the framework of the application of Article 33 of the ILO Constitution regarding freedom of association.
- Politicization of labor regulation (repressive labor laws and practices in Belarus) – repeal repressive legislation that restricts access to professions on political or ideological grounds and ensure that national legislation complies with international standards; end repressive practices against workers, civil society activists, NGOs, and independent trade unions; release activists who have been unlawfully detained and reinstate unfairly dismissed workers with appropriate compensation.
- Forced labor in places of detention – eliminate the system of labour therapy centers and abolish the use of forced labor in the penitentiary system of Belarus, providing victims with effective legal remedies.
- Arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions on access of former political prisoners to the labor market – immediately stop all politically motivated dismissals, abolish blacklists that restrict access to professions, rethink legislation that allows dismissals based on political views.
- Legislative and practical restrictions applied to cultural figures – must immediately cease all politically motivated dismissals and professional bans in the cultural sphere. Discriminatory registers and blacklists that restrict access to cultural professions must be abolished.
- Realization of the right to create and join trade unions of one’s own choice, the right to strike – restore forcibly liquidated independent trade unions, to provide them with favorable conditions for work and to stop interference in their activities (legal prosecution, searches, freezing of assets and discrediting), to establish in law the procedure for freely conducting strikes.
- Violations of human rights arising from legislation and policies that force citizens to compulsory labor, databases of “able-bodied citizens not employed in the economy”, “Saturday volunteer labour” and community service – eliminate the system of discriminatory measures against “able-bodied citizens not employed in the economy”, stop the practice of participating in Saturday volunteer labour under threat of dismissal, exclude from the legislation provisions on mandatory distribution to jobs.
- Violations of employers’ rights in Belarus and abroad – restore the right to legal entrepreneurial activity and joining business associations.
- Violations in the field of discrimination against women and drafting of employment contracts – cancel the list of professions prohibited for women, reduce the gender pay gap and promote career growth of women, implement effective measures against harassment in the workplace and ensure the possibility of trade unions’ assistance for such situations.
Belarus and Implementation of International Recommendations
Within the report, the coalition noted the position of the Government of the Republic of Belarus, aimed at disregarding the state’s international obligations in the field of protecting labor rights.
Belarus has systematically, for more than 20 years, failed to fulfill its obligations to the International Labor Organization (ILO), ignoring the Recommendations of its Commission of Inquiry, established in 2004 in connection with violations of freedom of association and labor rights.
Belarus has not ratified the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which establishes a procedure for filing complaints regarding labor rights protected by this Covenant.
On 8 February 2023, Belarus withdrew from the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which gives individuals the right to file complaints to the UN Human Rights Committee.
For a long time, Belarus has consistently been ranked among the worst countries in the world for workers’ rights, according to the Global Rights Index published by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). In its 2023 and 2024 reports, Belarus has been among the top ten countries with the worst working conditions, along with countries such as Bangladesh, Egypt and Myanmar.
The 113th Session of the ILO International Labour Conference is currently taking place in Geneva.
We call on the participants of the Conference to show solidarity with the illegally dismissed and imprisoned workers of Belarus! There is no place for slavery and discrimination based on trade union, political and gender affiliation in the 21st century! States must participate in social dialogue in good faith, and not choose sides through the formations they control, such as the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, and the destruction of opponents – independent trade unions.
We call on the International Labour Organization and ILO member states to increase pressure on the Belarusian authorities to stop systemic violations of workers’ rights, including repression of independent trade unions, discrimination on political and social grounds, forced labor and mass dismissals.
It is necessary to ensure that Belarus fulfils its obligations under the fundamental conventions of the ILO, implements the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry and the provisions of Article 33 of the ILO Constitution, and ensures international monitoring and solidarity support for affected workers.