On February 3, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Wage growth and the preservation of social guarantees at privatized enterprises are priority areas of trade union activities at present. This was stated in an interview with a BELTA correspondent by Elena Mankevich, Deputy Chairperson of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus. The FTUB insists that wage growth should be correlated with the growth of production volumes. "At some enterprises, despite growing economic indicators, wage growth rates remain low," the interviewee stated. In the context of denationalization and privatization, and the arrival of private owners, trade unions intend to demand guarantees for job preservation. If an enterprise is undergoing active technical re-equipment, resulting in staff reductions, trade unions insist on the creation of additional jobs and compensation for employees due to the need for retraining. Another requirement concerns the preservation and strict observance of collective agreements. "With the arrival of a private owner, the situation of workers should not worsen, and trade unions intend to monitor this," emphasized Elena Mankevich. Collective agreements are a guarantee of the protection of workers' rights. In this regard, trade unions insist that the provisions of the General Agreement between the government, trade unions, and the employers' union become mandatory in the collective agreements of specific enterprises, rather than merely recommendatory. -0-

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