Leanid Sudalenka, the Salidarnast lawyer, is convinced that then system of fixed-term contract employment in Belarus contradicts at least five Conventions of the International Labour Organization which guarantee workers’ rights and establish the floor of international labour standards.
He suggests looking into their key provisions violated by the Belarusian contract work system.
The main legal act of the country – the Labour Code (Article 8) – contains remarkable instructions concerning the relationship between the national labour legislation and norms of the international law.
The lawyer recalls that the Republic of Belarus does recognize the prevalence of the international law and ensures the compliance of the national labour legislation with its principles. So, if the country’s international agreements establish rules that are different from those contained in the Labour Code, the international rules prevail.
1. ILO Convention No 158 on Termination of Employment (1982)
The gist of the Convention:
• A worker cannot be terminated without a valid reason connected with his/her capacity or conduct, or economic circumstances.
• A worker shall be entitled to appeal his/her termination to an impartial body.
How it is violated:
• In Belarus, non-extension of the employment contract is tantamount to termination but producing a valid reason for non-extension is not required. The employer may simply choose not to renew the contract, even if the worker in question performs his/her job flawlessly.
• There are no mechanisms in place to appeal the non-extension of the contract. Legal remedies in this situation are virtually inaccessible, since, formally, the term of the contract has simply expired.
Conclusion: An international labour standard and the right to protection from unjustified termination are violated. The national law enforcement system, including the litigation in this category of cases, completely ignores not only the ILO Convention but also direct provisions of Article 8 of the Labour Code establishing the prevalence of this particular Convention.
2. ILO Convention No 105 on Abolition of Forced Labour (1957)
The gist of the Convention:
• Forced labour in all forms is banned, including the use of labour as a means of political coercion, punishment for having participated in a strike, or as a means of discrimination.
How it is violated:
• The fixed-term employment contract system in Belarus is used a means of establishing control over workers. The threat of the non-extension of the contract forces workers to obey, they are afraid to participate in strike actions or express their disagreement with the policies of the authorities or the management.
• A worker cannot voluntarily terminate his/her contract before it expires which restricts his/her ability to dispose freely of their labour.
Conclusion: The system creates conditions whereby work becomes a form of concealed forced labour.
3. ILO Convention No 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948)
The gist of the Convention:
• Workers shall have the right to establish and join trade unions without fear of repressions or dismissals.
How it is violated:
• Independent unions’ activists and workers engaged in trade union activities often face non-extension of their contracts. This is used as a means of punishment for their activism and as a way to put pressure on the workforce.
Example: Following the 2020 protests many members of independent unions were terminated through non-extension of their employment contracts.
Conclusion: The contract work system violates the right to freely engage in trade union activities and activists’ protections.
4. Convention No 98 on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949)
The gist of the Convention:
• Workers have the right to collectively negotiate working conditions with their employer.
• Employers cannot discriminate against workers for their participation in collective bargaining of trade union activities.
How it is violated:
• The fixed-term contract employment system in Belarus does not allow workers to effectively defend their rights as a collective.
• The threat of non-extension of employment contracts is used as a means of putting pressure on workers to make sure they do not participate in collective actions.
Conclusion: Collective bargaining becomes meaningless as workers fear losing their jobs.
5. ILO Convention No 111 on Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) (1958)
The gist of the Convention:
• Any discrimination in the world of work is forbidden, be it for political, religious, social, or any other reasons.
How it is violated:
• Workers who express their political views that do not comply with the official policy face discrimination: their employment contracts are not extended.
• This is particularly relevant for education, healthcare, and other public sector workers who make their opinions public.
Conclusion: The fixed-term employment contract system in Belarus is used as a tool of discrimination and political pressure.
The fixed-term employment contract system in Belarus regularly violates a number of core ILO Conventions officially ratified by the country. The main issues include:
• The lack of protection from groundless dismissals.
• The use of the system for the purposes of political pressure and forced labour.
• The violation of the rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining.
• The fostering of conditions for worker discrimination.
Harmonizing the national labour legislation with the international labour standards requires the abrogation of the compulsory nature of employment contracts, the strengthening of labour rights protections and the establishment of equitable working conditions.
Leanid SUDALENKA is the Salidarnast e.V. in-house lawyer with twenty years of experience in the area of defending Belarusian workers’ rights. He is the former legal inspector of the democratic REP union, a member of the Human Rights Centre “Viasna”, and a winner of international prizes for human rights defenders.
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