Trade unions at private companies to monitor wage and tax payments – FTUB

<p> MINSK, Nov 11 - PrimePress. Trade unions at private companies will monitor the payment of wages and taxes and defend the rights of employees, Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus (FTUB) Mikhail Orda said on November 10, 2020 on Belarus-1 TV channel. </p> <p>   </p> <p> President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko demanded at the meeting with Orda on November 10 that private enterprises must form primary trade union organizations by the end of this year or they will be shut down. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Orda said this would be done to prevent envelope salaries and, accordingly, tax evasion. </p> <p>   </p> <p> The envelope salaries, even unaccounted membership fees, are a problem, he said. According to Orda, the presence of trade unions implies social accountability. If a union head sees that money is paid off the book, and, accordingly, taxes are not paid in full, he or she will certainly blow the whistle, which some companies do not want, preferring to stay in the shadow. Therefore, trade unions are meant to an obstacle to this. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Orda stressed that trade union membership is a right, rather than an obligation. “It is crucial that a trade union is in place, some sort of a buffer between the employer and the employees. And there should be an organization that will defend the rights of employees, he said. </p> <p>   </p> <p> Formed in October 1990 out of the Soviet trade unions, the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus is a republican association of trade unions, their associations and associated members. It unites 15 craft unions, six oblast and Minsk city associations of trade unions, and 137 district and city associations of trade unions, over 4 million people in total (96.5% of the economically active population). End </p>

2020-11-12

Primepress