Experts: Authorities cannot fulfill their social obligations even in the year of president elections

According to the data of independent trade unions, the number of curtailments in Belarusan industrial giants made 12-14 thousand people. What can it lead to?

The leader of the Trade Union for workers of the radio-electronic industry Gennadz Fiadynich in the interview with the “EuroBelarus” Information Service noted that unfortunately, trade unions have no operative statistics from placement services; besides, official data on the number of layoffs remains non-transparent.

But in the situation when a large number of layoffs at large industrial enterprises is taking place should have happened earlier or later, he believes: large enterprises reduce produce, there are no sales, and factories have to switch to the volume of produce that they can sell.

“Such layoffs can continue for a long time, but the employer will be trying to formally avoid them. When employees reach pension age and contracts come to end this is a reason for throwing a person overboard in correspondence with the legislation”, - Fiadynich said.

- But it all is happening in the year of the presidential elections.

-  The authorities are afraid of the unemployed more than of the inflation. They will rather print more money than announce the growth of unemployment. The growth of critical mass of those dissatisfied with the situation in the country plays an important role in any state.

Unemployment in Belarus and in developed countries is a different problem. Whereas the letter provide the unemployed with the allowance of 50-70% of the average earnings while they study a different profession, our allowance makes $8. It’s summer now; but when autumn comes, people will have to buy children everything for school and return loans.

Now the authorities don’t have money to raise pensions and salaries even in the year of the elections. Most enterprises don’t provide normal supplies to the budget; they produce nothing and only raise prices. Such situation never happened on the eve of the presidential elections before. Earlier Russia was able to help; now it can only restructure our debts.

- So the authorities are interested in holding elections as early as possible, aren’t they?

- The authorities want to reschedule elections for an earlier term, since if they hold elections even a month later it can play an evil trick on them.

The former Labor Minister Aliaksandr Sasnou in the interview with the “EuroBelarus” Information Service noted that the enterprises don’t really need the people that are dismissed.

- It indicates that the volume of produce is not enough for these people to be present at the enterprise as workers.

- Is it good for the produce itself?

- I wouldn’t say so. If the produce has been developing, if it had good orders and prospects, competitive produce, markets, it would be good if it absorbed additional work force. Unfortunately, our famous factories are barely working. So the suppression of layoffs that has been lasting for 20 years led to exhaustion of all funds. Without the support of the authorities this enterprise would have been closed long time ago.

- Is it possible that the authorities have already understood that?

- They would have continued doing it. These enterprises were needed not only for producing goods but also for supporting toadies that we have a lot in our country.

- But this is done in the year of the elections.

- But we can do nothing about it; we have no choice. All the laws on parasitism and taxes on goods received by Internet are related to the attempts of the authorities not to lose their power; they don’t think of anything else.

- And what shall we do?

- They didn’t want to do anything for 20 years except for accumulating money and power, which they were doing successfully. As to the country, they don’t need it.

- For how long can this situation continue?

- I don’t know. Judging by the fact that Belarusans like being pushed in the back, I think it might continue for a long time. There might be some workers’ strikes. However, we have a very broad law enforcement apparatus, so, I think, the authorities will be able to nip all the protests in the bud for a long time.

- If the authorities resolve to carry out reforms…

- Who will be conducting them – is it Miasnikovich, or Lukashenka, or Kabiakou? They cannot organize reforms. They are only able to stay in power by any means. They will never introduce reforms.

- So everything will continue until it finally falls apart, won’t it?

- Perhaps it will. But I don’t know when it is going to happen.