BELARUS NEWS AND ANALYSIS

DATE:

11/06/2009

Belarus says boosting labour rights in EU trade bid

Source ::: Reuters

GENEVA: Ex-Soviet Belarus, hit hard by the global recession, declared yesterday that it was working to improve labour rights, a move diplomats said was aimed at regaining preferential trade treatment from the European Union.

Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Potupchik told the International Labour Organisation, a United Nations agency, that the administration of President Alexander Lukashenko had made "major advances" in allowing workers to organise freely.

But the leader of the country's main independent labour union grouping warned ILO delegates not to mistake "proclaimed intentions for real deeds" and wait to see concrete actions from Minsk. In 2007, the EU suspended trade preferences for Belarus-increasing by 3 percentage points duties on its exports to the 27-nation bloc-after ILO experts said the Lukashenko administration was flouting the UN agency's labour standards.

Although Minsk brushed the move aside at the time, diplomats say the relatively small sums involved have become increasingly important as Lukashenko's once close relations with Russia have soured and left him open to economic pressure from Moscow.

In the past few days, Lukashenko has accused Moscow of putting pressure on him to recognise two Georgian regions whose unilateral declarations of independence are backed by Russia.

Source:

http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=United+Kingdom+%26+Europe&month=June2009&file=World_News2009061171222.xml

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