Belarus faces EU probe into labour rights :: Charter'97 :: News

Belarus will be told on Wednesday that it faces a European Union investigation into its treatment of labour unions that could result in the country losing its right to preferential tariffs on exports worth hundreds of millions of euros.

If this happened, it would deal a devastating blow to an economy already crippled by more than a decade of authoritarian rule and a dearth of foreign investment.

The probe reflects long-standing European unease at the regime of Alexander Lukashenko, who has so far denied his country the political and economic reforms that have swept Belarus` neighbours in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet empire.

Yesterday, the European Commission described the country as "the last dictatorship in Europe". He cited continuing concerns on media censorship, elections marred by severe irregularities as well as government pressure on opposition parties.

The fate of Belarus` trade unions is at the heart of the Commission probe. It is based on a complaint made in January 2003 by three labour union federations. They wrote to Pascal Lamy, EU trade commissioner, claiming that "obstacles have been raised systematically to oppose legal registration of free trade unions, to limit trade union activities, and to repress trade union leaders and activists."

The unions say they are particularly concerned that Mr Lukashenko was in effect in control of the FTUB, the country`s main trade union organisation, after one of his closest advisers was put in charge of the body in July 2002.

Should these accusations be confirmed, Belarus could lose all benefits linked to its membership of the EU`s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP). Countries that fall under the GSP are allowed to import goods into the EU at substantially reduced tariffs or even zero duties - a highly valuable benefit, especially for countries which, like Belarus, look to Europe as one of their main markets.

The EU can revoke these privileges if a country fails to abide by certain guidelines, including labour laws and social standards. Concerns over Myanmar`s failure to crack down on child labour led Brussels to cancel its GSP status seven years ago - the first and only time the EU has resorted to this measure.

James Howard, director for international labour standards at the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, one of the complainants, said: "Given that Belarus exports some very price-sensitive goods such as textiles, its exports could really suffer if found guilty. But in an ideal scenario we would of course like the Belarus government to recognise labour union rights rather than have sanctions."