Labour legislation in the Republic of Belarus

Labour and labour-related relations in the Republic of Belarus are regulated on the basis of:

· the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus;

· the Labour Code;

· the collective agreement, covenants, or any other local normative acts signed and adopted in compliance with the Belarusian legislation.

The Constitution of the Republic of Belarus of 1994 adopted at the republican referendum of November 24, 1996, contains a separate Section 2 entitled “The Individual, Society, and State” which ensures various rights and guarantees to citizens of the Republic of Belarus and other individuals.

The following rights relevant to employment are guaranteed to citizens of the Republic of Belarus:

1. The right to work as the worthiest means of an individual’s self-assertion. This right is understood as comprising the right to choose one's profession and occupation in accordance with one’s capabilities, education, training and social needs as well as the right to healthy and safe working conditions, the right to protection of economic and social interests, including the right to form trade unions and conclude collective agreements.

2. Equal rights for men and women in their opportunities to receive education and vocational training, promotion in labour, socio-political, cultural and other spheres of activity, as well as in creating conditions safeguarding their labour and health.

3. A just share of remuneration for the economic results of one’s labour, and it is expressly stated that women and men shall be entitled to equal remuneration for work of equal value.

4. The right of working people to holidays, including annual paid leave and weekly rest days. The working week is fixed at 40 hours.

5. The right of citizens to health-care, which shall be secured through improvements in occupational safety.

6. The right to social security.

Labour Code of the Republic of Belarus of 26 July 1999establishes the supremacy of provisions of international law, including ILO Conventions to which the Republic of Belarus is a party, over national legislation.

In addition, if any issue covered by an international treaty is not regulated in the national legislation of the Republic of Belarus, relevant provisions of the international treaty shall be applied directly. In the case of any contradiction between provisions of an international treaty and national legislation of the Republic of Belarus, the provisions of the international treaty take precedence.

Local normative acts, as compared to the laws of labour, may not contain provisions that deteriorate conditions of the employed. Belarus shall recognize priority of generally accepted principles of the International Law, and ensures compliance of the legislation of labour therewith. The norms of any acting international treaties of the Republic of Belarus, or conventions of the International Labour Organization, to which Belarus is a member-state, shall be deemed a part of the labour legislation in force in the territory of the Republic.

The objectives of labor legislation is the establishment of state guarantees of labour rights and freedoms of citizens, creating favourable working conditions, protection of the rights and interests of workers and employees.

The legal basis for regulating the relations in the field of employment, is art. 41 of the Constitution, enshrining the obligation of the state to create conditions for full employment, and to ensure the protection of individuals not employed for reasons beyond their control.

Answer the questions:

1. What are the sources of labour legislation of Belarus?

2. What basic rights are secured to citizens of the Republic of Belarus by the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus in the field of employment?

3. What principles are observed in the Labour Code of the Republic of Belarus and local normative acts on employment?

4. What are the objectives of labor legislation?

5. What obligations does the state abide by in the field of employment?

Give Russian equivalents for the following English words and word combinations from the text and use them in sentences of your own:

1. to be in compliance with smth, 2. to be relevant to smth, 3. self-assertion, 4. vocational training, 5. promotion in labour, 6. a just share of remuneration, 7. supremacy of provisions of international law, 8. provisions of the international treaty, 9. to deteriorate conditions, 10. conventions of the ILO deemed a part of the labour legislation, 11. full employment.

Study some Articles of the Labour Code of the Republic of Belarus and get ready to discuss them.

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Article 14 prohibits any kind of discrimination, including discrimination based on sex. It stipulates that discriminatory provisions of collective agreements are invalid.

Persons who believe they were subjected to discrimination in the area of labour relations have the right to request a court to adjudicate and to seek the end of such discrimination.

Any distinctions, exemptions, preferences, and restrictions are not considered discrimination, if they are:

a. based on requirements pertinent to a given job;

b. necessitated by special care taken by the state of persons who are in need of a stronger social and legal protection (women, persons under age, disabled persons, victims of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant disaster etc.)

Article 184 deals with the special leave for pregnant women. The pre-natal leave is fixed at 70 calendar days and the post-natal leave is 56 calendar days. In cases of complications and birth of two and more children the post-natal leave is extended to 70 calendar days. During the leave women receive payments in accordance with state’s social security plan.

Article 185 regulates child-care leave granted until the child's third birthday. This leave shall be granted following a written application either to a mother, a father or other relative of the child who actually provides care instead of the mother, including the designated guardian.

This leave may be taken as one single period of leave or as a number of shorter periods. Monthly state benefits are paid during the period of leave. During the period of child-care leave the person concerned is entitled to work on a part-time basis (nor more than half standard monthly working hours) without losing entitlement to monthly state benefits.

Child-care leave is counted towards the employee’s total length of service and towards the employee’s length of service in a specific area, occupation or post, but not towards pensionable periods of service for work under special conditions or long service.

Article 263 prohibits the engagement of pregnant women and women having children below the age of three years in night work, overtime work, work on public and customary holidays, work on days off, and sending them to work-related travel. Women having children from three to fourteen years of age (disabled children — up to eighteen years of age) can be engaged in these types of work only with their consent.

Article 264 requests employers to transfer pregnant women and women having children below the age of one year and a half to another, less heavy work, if they are not able to exercise their initial work. The output rates and service rates may also be reduced for pregnant women. The legislation requires a medical certificate for transfer or change of the piece-work rates of pregnant women. Pending the settlement of the issue in accordance with the medical certificate, pregnant women may be released from their work completely. In all cases the average level of wages/salaries paid during the previous duties is retained.

Article 362 expressly prohibits insertion in collective agreements of any conditions that would result in a situation where employees would have less rights and freedoms than those guaranteed by law. Such conditions are declared null and void.

Some of the possible provisions of a collective agreement are the following:

a. Creation of safe and healthy working conditions, improvement of the protection of health, guarantees of social security insurance for employees and their families;

b. Guarantees of occupation, training, retraining, upgrading and placement of dismissed personnel;

с. Provision of facilities in sanatoria and health resorts as well as facilities for rest and holidays for employees and members of their families;

d. Ensuring of additional guarantees to single parents, families with many children as well as to families with disabled children.

Find in the text the English equivalents for the following Russian words and word combinations:

1. положения, не имеющие законной силы, 2. подвергаться дискриминации, 3. судить, выносить решение, 4. требования, относящиеся к данной работе, 5. несовершеннолетние, 6. дородовый / послеродовый декретный отпуск, 7. отпуск по уходу за ребенком, 8. опекун, 9. право на государственные льготы, 10. трудовой стаж, 11. сверхурочная работа, 12. могут быть привлечены к работе с их согласия, 13. нормы производительности труда и выработки, 14. нормы сдельной выработки, 15. средняя зарплата сохраняется, 16. не имеющий законной силы коллективный договор, 17. определение на работу, 18. родители, воспитывающие детей в одиночку, 19. дети-инвалиды.

Work in pairs. Imagine that one of you is a lawyer and the other needs professional advice. Make short dialogues on the basis of the above Article.

Read the definition and the text below and get ready to discuss them.

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