According to Willy Thys, the Secretary General of the WCL, "We must remain vigilant in ensuring that where we have the leverage of trade to improve respect for workers' rights, we do so. Not only has the Belarus government not implemented any of the 12 recommendations of the ILO Commission of Inquiry (CoI) set up in 2004, but the situation has gotten worse."
"We not only urge the committee to recommend the suspension of trade preferences to Belarus which it has every power to do, we also urge Peter Mandelson, other Commissioners and the Council to follow through.
The workers of Belarus deserve our support in their fight against this repressive regime, and the citizens of Europe deserve to know that their leaders are promoting democracy, freedom and decent work when they make their trade decisions," John Monks, the General Secretary of the ETUC commented today.
The ICFTU represents 155 million workers in 236 affiliated organisations in 154 countries and territories.ICFTU is also a partner in Global Unions.
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
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