On October 1 through 3, 2024, Vilnius hosted an international conference which brought together trade union representatives from Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Moldova, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, as well as experts from the International Labour Organization (ILO) and officials from the Migration Department and the Ministry of Social Protection and Labour of Lithuania. The event’s theme transcended the labour migration agenda to cover protection of workers’ rights in the times of geopolitical crises and rapidly changing economy.
The Conference was opened by Kristina Krupavičienė, President of the Lithuanian “Solidarumas” Union, and Sergejus Glovackas, Head of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia Department of the ILO Bureau for Workers’ Activities (ACTRAV/ILO). Participant from various countries discussed migration-related issues and proposed solutions. A particular focus was put on Central Asian countries where the rapid demographic growth and limited economic opportunities force thousands of people to seek employment abroad. They also discussed the situation of refugees who have left their homes and workplaces because of the war in Ukraine and Nagorno-Karabakh.
Siarhei Antusevich, Vice-President of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (BKDP), who was recently released from prison, spoke of the difficult situation in Belarus. He stressed that the repressions have forced over 700,000 Belarusians to leave the country, going mostly to Poland. Maksim Pazniakou pointed out that independent unions are banned in Belarus and people get arrested merely for clicking Likes in social media.
The Belarusian trade union leaders urged representatives of Central Asian countries to stop any cooperation with the pro-Government Trade Union Federation of Belarus (FPB) which supports repressions in the country.
The conference also noted that Lithuania hosts a large number of Belarusian immigrants. However, only 2,000 of them are political refugees while the other 60,000 are labour migrants.
The ILO experts made presentations on the need to ratify the international labour standards protecting migrant workers’ rights. Special attention was given to issues of illegal migration and social damping that put local workers at a disadvantage. Lithuanian unions highlighted the importance of influencing employers to prevent exploitation of foreign workers.