Pro-Government NGOs: Do this, I do not know what

Dzmitry Brukhavetski

Summary

The year 2013 became one more year of stagnation for the pro-government NGOs – the Federation of Trade unions of Belarus (FTUB), the Republican Public Association Belaya Rus and the Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRYU). This is connected with the very limited role, which these organizations are supposed to play in the political arena in Belarus. Moreover, despite the crisis of the Belarusian model and lack of budget allocations even those narrow possibilities that they have are not fully used by these organizations.

Trends:

The Federation of Trade unions of Belarus: an evil genius by the name of Alexander Yaroshuk

he year 2013 did not become a year of any significant events for the Federation of Trade unions of Belarus (FTUB). This organization continued to conduct its activities in a passive mode which means a supportive role of the trade unions in controlling employees’ sentiments. In these frames the trade unions are partly supposed to provide working people with social support. However, under the general crisis of the Belarusian social and economic model the FTUB suffers to a greater extent from the lack of finances for its activities in this sphere.

The FTUB attempts to formulate – at least at the level of slogans – suggestions for improving the social and economic situation in the country. However, the problem is that the Federation is not able to directly propose these suggestions and claims to the president but can propose watered-down versions of them only to the government. Thus, in July-September of 2013 the official trade unions made an attempt to argue against a new order of sickness and prenatal allowances which had decreased significantly the amounts of payments. These attempts failed predictably.

One of the main directions of the FTUB’s activities is the struggle with those trade unions which are not the Federation’s members. For example, the official FTUB’s website publishes often pejorative information about the head of the independent trade unions Mr. Alexander Yaroshuk. The lexicon and expressions used in these information messages closely resemble the Soviet propaganda of the 1930s.1

The traditional meeting between president Alexander Lukashenko and the FTUB’s head Mr. Leonid Kozik was held on February 25. In general, according to the official releases, the conversation during the meeting was practically similar to the conversation between Lukashenko and Kozik one year earlier. Thus, the Belarusian leader once again pointed out that he received contradictory information about developments in the trade union movement and wondered about the extent of their influence. Mr. Leonid Kozik’s response was predictably standard: certainly, there are no serious problems; the number of trade unions members is constantly growing. After this, Alexander Lukashenko once again discussed his idea to promote the official trade unions’ activities at private enterprises.

The authorities’ intention and logic are clear: in order to control employees’ sentiments at private enterprises the trade unions have to maintain real protection of worker’s rights. However, the official trade unions which are able to work using only administrative methods have nothing to offer for private enterprises’ employees. Besides, the authorities are not ready to change the trade unions’ role, even for the sake of additional control over private enterprises’ employees.

The FTUP continues to remain in significant international isolation. For this reason any contacts with foreign trade unions (primary from the CIS and Eastern and South-Eastern Asia) are introduced as a great breakthrough and success of the Federation. Nevertheless, even the highly publicized by the Belarusian mass-media 4th meeting of the Trade unions Confederation of Azerbaijan (February, 5–6, 2013 in Baku) hosted both official and independent Belarusian trade unions. The FTUB’s representatives are often not invited to visit meetings and conferences (for example, the European regional conference of the ILO in April in Oslo) held by the International Labor Organization (ILO), where Belarus is represented by its independent trade unions. Nevertheless, the FTUB’s delegation attended the 102-d session of the ILO in Geneva, on June, 5–20. This participation was partly stipulated by the ILO’s procedures rules.2 In spite of the FTUB’s participation, Belarus once again was included with the countries (alongside with Fiji and Uzbekistan) where the situation with employees’ rights demands ILO’s special consideration.

Unfortunately, the FTUB does not see any significant problems in the social sphere in Belarus except sickness benefits cuts, Mr. Yaroshuk’s activities and the war in Syria. Comparing to these, the official trade unions’ reaction on job cuts in 2013 and in future in 2014 was much more moderate. The trade unions do not also react on the further overspreading of forced labor in the country. Moreover, they encourage and justify forced and free labor of students and pupils (including underage ones) at purely commercial objects. The official trade unions did also not react on the permanent forced vacations at enterprises, cuts of social programs, price increases and labor outflows.

As a result, a significant part of Belarusian society considers the official trade unions as organizations which are responsible only for distribution of minute social bonuses and goods and do nothing for real protection of employees’ rights.

The Republican Public Association Belaya Rus: an endless path of transformations

A characteristic feature of Belaya Rus’ activities in the year 2013 as well as in the previous years was the absence of ideas. During meetings with activists of the organization, its leaders are often not able to formulate neither the aim and goals of the organization nor the results of its work.

In spite of significant resources, Belaya Rus almost in all cases is not an organizer of different charitable, cultural and other activities of a “patriotic or ideological” character in which its members participate. Usually, the organization joins (very often without any significant contribution) actions which are conducted by state enterprises or agencies.

The year 2013 introduced a new element in the activities of Belaya Rus – its entrance on the international stage and signing cooperation agreements with such parties as “Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland” and “Concord” (Latvia). The “Self-Defense of the Republic of Poland” is not an important political force in its state. After the elections in 2011 the “Self-Defense” got only 0.07% of votes and did not get into the Polish Parliament. “Concord” enjoys a greater political weight (after the recent elections the party got 28 out of 100 parliamentary Parliament mandates). Such agreements usually do not have any practical consequences: nevertheless they provide Belaya Rus with a reliable way of getting to EU countries for those functionaries who are not on the “black lists”.

In general, the activities of Belaya Rus have the most formal character among the all three discussed pro-government NGOs. The main reason of is that the organization itself was mainly founded to be a prototype of a political party within the discussion about the necessity of party-list voting in Belarus and establishing the “party in power”. However, these discussions will remain mere discussions for a long period of time while the main opponent of this system –president Lukashenko – does not see any significant reasons for changing the current successfully functioning political model.

It is worth mentioning that discussions about a party system in Belarus were practically absent in the president’s public speeches in 2013. Therefore, the main function of Belaya Rus is to remain a prototype of a future party and unite mainly the administration of state enterprises and agencies. It is evident that the organization copes with these functions successfully.

The Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRYU): laborpool

As for the other pro-government NGOs, the year 2013 became a year of stagnation for the BRYU. At the same time, among the three discussed pro-government NGOs the BRYU seems to have the greatest capacities and is considered by the authorities as a kind of laborpool which can be used mainly for solving the deepening problem of finding qualified staff. The state had previously considered the BRYU as a laborpool for security forces and stimulated with different means the establishment of so called “law enforcement mobile troops”. For example, on December, 10, 2012 during his meeting with the BRYU’s First Secretary Mr. Igor Buzovsky, president Lukashenko emphasized the BRYU’s and Belaya Rus’ special role as a laborpool for security agencies.

The BRYU also plays a significant role in the development of the construction brigades movement and implementation of the project ‘100 ideas for Belarus’. It should be said that the construction brigades movement which is supervised by the BRYU and where young people have a real chance to earn money begins to compete to an increasing extent with forced labor of pupils and students which is actively used by local authorities without any consideration forth BRYU. The year 2013 became especially significant in this relation due to the active use of schools and university students in free forced labor even at purely commercial objects including construction. The first months of 2014 have demonstrated that labor outflows, especially in the field of construction, encourage the authorities to promote the use of free forced labor. Besides, the financial problems of the state do not stipulate the development of construction brigades movement. On April, 19 in his annual message to the Belarusian people and the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko discussed the idea that the BRYU has to develop a new system for identifying young talented people for appointment on significant positions in society including the system of public administration. At his meeting with gifted pupils, students and talented young people on May, 21 the president further developed his technocratic ideas about young people’s role in the country’s modernization.

In the implementation of the project “100 ideas for Belarus” which is especially appreciated by the head of state, the BRYU got a competitor represented by the project “Smart Networks” which had been initiated by the Information-Analytical Center of the Administration of the president of the Republic of Belarus. However, except a number of allegations on essential and demanded proposals presented by the project’s participants the question about its practical effect remains open. During the forum ‘Youth. Traditions. Future’ (October, 29) president Lukashenko once again stated his former ideas about the importance of the BRYU’s work and emphasized the necessity to include (in one or another form) the maximum possible number of young people in the organization’s activities.

All of the above proves that the state has a vague notion about young people’s role in society’s life, except for the confidence that they will not participate in any unsanctioned political processes.

Conclusion

The pro-government NGOs underwent almost no development in the year 2013. They occupied their place in the political and social system of the country and the state sees no grounds for expanding this niche. Moreover, the general crisis of the Belarusian model of development stimulates the further reduction of these organizations’ role, mainly that of the FTUB, in society and in the activities of the state.