ILO Governing Body: Report of the director-general, Fourth supplementary report:

Statement on behalf of the Presidency of the European Union (Speaker Mr. Gilles de Robien, French Government Representative to the ILO Governing Body)

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Measures taken by the Government of Belarus to implement the recommendations of the Commission on Inquiry established to examine the observance of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98)

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*[1], the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, and Switzerland, as well as Ukraine align themselves with this declaration.

1. The EU has taken note of the information provided by the International Labour Office in the document (GB.301/17/4), namely, that:

•  the Government of Belarus has not formally presented any further information on the measures taken to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry;
• allegations of continuous interference and trade union rights violations have been received by the Office and have been transmitted to the Government for its reply; and
• discussion on the draft trade union law has not been concluded in the National Council of Labour and Social Issues (NCLSI) and the law has not been submitted to the Parliament.

2. As the Government of Belarus has not presented any new substantial information on the measures taken to implement the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry, the EU would like to reiterate its great concern about persistent non compliance with these recommendations and the obvious standstill.

3. The EU would also like to recall its statement during the 300^th session of the GB and to encourage the Government of Belarus to urgently review its legislation in cooperation with the social partners and ILO in order to ensure the rights of freedom of association and collective bargaining, foreseen in Conventions Nos. 87 and 98.

4. The EU continues to follow the implementation of ILO recommendations in Belarus with keen interest and looks forward to receiving information about progress in this regard from the Experts Committee and the Committee on the Application of Standards.

5. In this context, the EU urges the Government of Belarus to take all the necessary steps in order to make a substantial progress in this respect. We look forward to the discussions that will take place at the coming ILC.