Entrepreneurs have announced a strike in Hrodna

The entrepreneurs are protesting against the requirements of the Customs Union’s technical regulations.

The protest is taking place at two largest marketplaces in Hrodna – Skidzelski and Yuzhny.

“The strike has so far been announced for one day only. It is of a warning nature. On Tuesday we are going to work, but if nothing changes before 24 June, protests may continue”, - one of the entrepreneurs told the charter97.org web-site.

He explained that the situation will be discussed tomorrow at the meeting of the regional trade union. Entrepreneurs’ demands have already been passed to the authorities.

“We want to find a way out of the situation. The main problem is in the obligatory certification of goods and the necessity to receive coupons. These requirements are impossible to fulfill. We will decide what to do tomorrow at a regional trade union meeting. We sent our demands to the Council of Ministers in order to find a compromise. No one will simply be able to work in line with such tough regulations”, - he says.

Customs Union’s technical regulations “On the safety of light industry products” provide for documental confirmation of the quality of goods. Including ones brought to Belarus from Russia, although it is a single customs area.

In order to obtain the necessary documents, either the Russian quality certification must be validated or a part of the goods sent for a special expertise.

Initially these regulations must have entered in force on 1 January 2013, but it was postponed after last year’s wave of discontent.

Entrepreneurs recently protested against the adoption of new rules, which are supposed to come into force on 1 July, in Viciebsk. They had a one-day strike.

Photos: gp.by