Belarusian Unions Step Up Fight Against Workplace Injuries
"Trade unions carry out extensive preventive work together with social partners. Nevertheless, occupational injury issues remain relevant across almost all industries. Despite stricter accountability for compliance with labor safety laws and incentive measures, violations are still quite common. Based on our experience, we see the need to strengthen explanatory work in workplaces and to analyze cases and nuances of safety regulations directly at workplaces," said Anna Varfolomeieva, Secretary for International Affairs of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus.
The main cause of injuries is still human factor, meaning the neglect of safety measures, carelessness, and alcohol intoxication.
Trade unions continuously work to improve occupational safety. In the first 6 months of this year, labor technical inspectors conducted over 4,200 inspections and monitoring visits at organizations and enterprises to check compliance with labor safety legislation. More than 29,000 violations were identified.
At the Council meeting, it was decided to deepen the work on consulting employers and assisting them in creating safe working conditions.
GCTU News
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For trade unions, March 8 is not just a day of spring and renewal.
For trade unions, March 8 is not just a day of spring and renewal.
For trade unions, March 8 is not merely a day of spring and renewal. Above all, it is an opportunity to once again reflect on the role of women in the world of work and in global development as a whole. Today, women perform 55% of the world’s total labor. They work longer hours than men—by 6 to 13 hours per week—and still earn less: on average, women’s wages amount to 66–84% of men’s wages, depending on the country. There is objective evidence that the more a country values women’s labor and the smaller the gender pay gap, the more developed its economy. A special issue is the “invisibility” of women’s domestic and, as experts call it, reproductive labor. This is why trade unions should continue to fight for justice for working women.
I congratulate all women of the CIS, my colleagues in the parliamentary corps, and women in trade unions on International Women’s Day. I wish you justice, decent work, success, and prosperity!
Viktor Pinsky
General Secretary of the General Confederation of Trade Unions, Member of the State Duma
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General Confederation of Trade Unions Proposes Securing Trade Union Rights in Enterprise Bankruptcy
General Confederation of Trade Unions Proposes Securing Trade Union Rights in Enterprise Bankruptcy
The General Confederation of Trade Unions’ (GCTU) proposals are reflected in the draft CIS model law “On Cross-Border Insolvency and Bankruptcy.”
Trade unions must have the right to represent and protect workers’ interests in the bankruptcy of international companies, according to Viktor Pinsky, Member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation and General Secretary of the GCTU.
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GCTU Launches International Educational Program “Regulation of Labor Relations Based on Social Dialogue Principles”
GCTU Launches International Educational Program “Regulation of Labor Relations Based on Social Dialogue Principles”
The program is designed for specialists and trade union activists involved in collective bargaining at all levels of social partnership. It consists of four modules and will include about two hundred participants from six countries.
The first module—a lecture session—will be held on March 3, 2026. Leading experts from the General Confederation of Trade Unions, educational organizations of four national trade union centers (Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic, Russia, and Uzbekistan), and Lomonosov Moscow State University will deliver lectures.