The Belarusian Popular Front (BPF)’s Soym (Council), at a meeting in Minsk on December 8, condemned Lukashenka’s decree that imposed restrictions on the right of employees to leave woodworking enterprises.
In a statement, the BPF leadership described the decree as a dangerous precedent and a violation of workers’ rights.
Issued on December 7, the decree prohibits employees of woodworking plants from quitting their job without the employer’s permission before the expiry of their labor contract.
The BPF Soym said that the decree ran counter to the constitution and the International Labor Organization’s Convention 105, which bans forced labor.
The statement warned that such decrees could lead to sanctions from international organizations and scare away foreign investors.
The opposition party’s leadership demanded that the Council of Ministers ask the Constitutional Court to abolish the decree and urged pro-democratic parties, NGOs and trade unions to express solidarity with people affected by the decree.
