Sviatlana sent a letter to the Council of Global Unions and International Trade Union Confederation, calling on them to protect the rights of workers in Belarus:
“Mr. David Edwards
Chair of the Council of Global Unions
Ms. Sharan Burrow
General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation
Dear Mr. Edwards, dear Ms. Burrow,
First of all, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to meet with you in person and via Zoom on 10 March 2021. Thank you for the productive conversation, which made me feel your support and commitment to our fight for democracy in Belarus. I would also like to thank specifically IndustriALL Global Union, which helped to arrange this event during my visit to Geneva.
As discussed during our meeting, I would like to follow up on a list of practical requests, developed by my office jointly with the leadership of the Congress of Democratic Trade Unions of Belarus, and in consultation with diasporas and striking workers. There is an urgent need for increased efforts by international workers' movements to defend the activists and to help us fight for our freedom.
We are very grateful for all your efforts in making sure the interests of Belarusian people and Belarusian workers have been high on the international and in particular the discussions at the UN level, including the new accountability mechanisms under the UN Human Rights Council and the progress of the ILO Freedom of Association complaint, facilitated by the ITUC. We appreciate the support the affiliates of the ITUC and Global Unions provide to Belarusian democratic diasporas in Europe and across the globe and their help with lobbying the national governments.
In relation to the responsibility of business, we have several requests. They are based on the general call of the human rights and trade union organizations to business. We would greatly appreciate your support in engaging with the companies that have ties with Belarusian businesses and ensuring they are committed to protecting the workers who participate in the democratic movement in Belarus — whether at work or in the streets. We believe there several steps companies, with relationships in Belarus, can take that do not have any serious financial implications, namely:
- making a public statement against violence and human rights violations in Belarus during and after the 2020 presidential election campaign, including the unprecedented violence against peaceful protesters;
- making it explicit to their Belarusian suppliers and partners that any management action that violates human rights and standards of business conduct, including any form of discrimination and persecution of employees and clients for expression of their political opinion, is deemed unacceptable, and that any such action will negatively affect their partnership with such international companies, and will likely result in termination of commercial contracts and ties;
- actively engaging with democratic trade unions of Belarus to develop an action plan, aimed at mitigating the impact of the repression of workers;
- refraining from sponsorship of any sport or cultural events organized in Belarus, formally notifying the organizers thereof and announcing such decision publicly;
- ensuring that the facts of human rights violations by their Belarusian partners and suppliers, as well as the measures directed at minimizing and overcoming the outlined risks, have been reflected in their non-financial reporting.
We hope that Global Unions will help us by passing these requests over to the companies Global Unions have a relationship with. In particular, we hope this matter can be raised and addressed with the following companies:
- Heavy Industry: Bosch, Siemens, Scania, Yara International, Ameropa, Helm, Körber AG, Michelin, Continental, Bridgestone, Yokohama, Eaton, Goodyear, Nokian, Caterpillar;
- Food, Drink Tobacco: Danone, Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, Alliance One, Nestle, Systembolaget, Oettinger, Coca-Cola, Carlsberg, Food Union;
- Hotels: Hilton, Accor, Marriott International;
- Transport: MSC;
- Forestry: IKEA.
We would like to thank you once again for your work in support of democracy in Belarus. We know that there will be a day when Belarusians, together with their international partners, will celebrate a joint victory of democratic principles.
Yours truly,
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya”.
