The World Federation of Trade Unions, representing 105 million workers in 132 countries, expresses its solidarity with the workers and people of Belarus, who are in the middle of an intra-imperialist conflict since the August 9 election, when President Alexander Lukashenko received more than 80 percent of the votes but the opposition complained about fraud.
For the world class-oriented trade union movement, it is clear that developments in Belarus are linked to strong competitions in the region, between the US-EU-NATO on the one hand and Russia on the other. Both “camps” have great economic and geopolitical interests to increase their control and influence in Belarus.
It is also clear that the workers, the poor popular strata, have no interest in lining up behind such interest groups to improve their working and living conditions. Whether the oil comes from the US or Russia, a large part of the population will not be able to meet its needs in heating, whether Belarus exports products to Russia or the EU, there will be a part of its population that will not be able to cover basic nutritional needs and so on.
The attitude of the yellow trade union leaders at world and European level is hypocritical and dangerous, calling on the workers to “protest” with allegedly democratic and pro-independence demands, in order to serve the interests of the US and EU monopolies. They use the just indignation of the workers to turn their militancy into directions that are not costly for the existing system. The yellow trade union leaders once more reaffirm that they are barking for the interests of the capitalists.
We call on the workers in Belarus to struggle for their rights in an organized and decisive manner, for the substantial improvement of their working and living conditions, against forces and mechanisms that engage them in competitions for the interests of the monopolies. To struggle for their democratic right to decide by themselves, freely and democratically on their present and future, instead of NATO and its instruments. This is a permanent position of the class-oriented trade union movement and it can give a way-out in favor of the workers.
