New forms of informing the population of Belarus on labor and social protection issues contribute to a reduction in the number of citizen appeals

Increased public awareness on social and labour issues, and the application of new forms of legal assistance contribute to a reduction in citizens' appeals. This was reported to a BELTA correspondent by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Belarus.

At the same time, appeals serve the interests, needs, and development of society as a means of interaction between the state and citizens, the ministry noted. The analysis of citizens' proposals and the issues they raise, as well as the systematic study of the implementation of legal norms at the local level, form the basis for improving the legal framework.

The most in-demand forms of work include comprehensive outreach events, direct telephone hotlines, and interactive communication. An innovation in working with the public has been the information hotline on social and labour issues; it has been operating in test mode since September 1, and has already provided clarifications to 1290 applicants. In August, Novogrudok in the Grodno region hosted the fifth stage of the "Day with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection" campaign – a comprehensive outreach event that included direct telephone hotlines and round tables, meetings with the district's active members and work collectives, a personal reception by the deputy minister, and the operation of an electronic reception. As a result of the campaign, legal assistance was provided to 285 residents of the city and district, and representatives of legal entities. Incidentally, this campaign has been conducted by the ministry since 2012, with over 900 applicants receiving informational and advisory legal assistance in total.

In January-September of the current year, the central office of the ministry received 3129 appeals, including 1598 written, 343 oral, and 1188 electronic. Compared to the same period last year, the number of appeals decreased by 1.9%, with written appeals decreasing by 9%. It should be noted that the number of complaints decreased by 20.5%. Two complaints were deemed justified, and in each case, a directive was issued to bring the perpetrators to disciplinary action. Meanwhile, the number of expressions of gratitude received by the ministry's employees, and bodies and organisations within its system, increased by one and a half times.

According to specialists, the number of repeated appeals has decreased by 8.4%, from 202 to 185. The main reasons for repeated appeals were disagreement with decisions made by the ministry in accordance with regulatory legal acts (65.9%) and dissatisfaction with legislation (22.8%). Other reasons included applicants' demands for decisions to be made "fairly", "as an exception", or "like in other countries", even if this contradicted national legal norms. There were no substantiated repeated appeals.

A feature of the current year has been electronic appeals from residents of foreign countries, primarily Ukraine, regarding employment opportunities in the republic and relocation for permanent residence. Due to the mass nature of appeals from foreigners, a special section "Employment of Foreign Citizens" has been opened on the ministry's website, containing all necessary information, including available vacancies. Primarily due to appeals concerning employment from residents of other countries (almost every second appeal), the total number of such appeals in January-September of the current year has more than doubled compared to the same period last year.

The ministry assured that all appeals have been reviewed within the timeframes established by law. Appeals concerning pension provision lead in terms of subject matter, accounting for 31.8%. The most frequently raised issues concern the calculation of pension amounts (as a rule, this is related to pensioners' desire to ensure its correctness). The number of appeals regarding the right to an old-age pension for work under special conditions has increased. No violations of pension legislation norms were identified when commissions made decisions to refuse such pensions.

In second place in the peculiar rating of appeals are issues related to labour legislation (21%). These primarily concerned the regulation of labour relations, remuneration and labour standards, calculation of service record, labour protection, and workplace assessment. The number of written appeals regarding the provision of financial assistance, benefits, and guarantees to certain categories of citizens in connection with the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Republic of Belarus from the Nazi invaders has increased.

Over the 9-month period, 343 individuals attended personal consultations with ministry officials. Minister of Labour and Social Protection Marianna Shchetkina and her deputies received 61 individuals. The ministry's leadership conducted 14 outreach sessions, during which 54 residents from various regions took the opportunity to pose their pressing questions to agency officials and share their concerns. This year, citizens have actively sought consultations at the public reception office (incidentally, 46.9% of inquiries came from Minsk residents, and 16.6% from residents of the Minsk Region). A hotline operates at the ministry on weekdays, and direct telephone lines on topical issues are held quarterly.

The "Online Marathon" project is gaining popularity (3 interactive conferences have been held this year). Furthermore, the Minister of Labour and Social Protection conducted 2 online consultations: in April, supported by the newspaper "Respublika" (22 applicants received answers to their questions), and in September, supported by BELTA (65 individuals).

The "Question and Answer" section on the website is regularly updated, publishing answers to the most frequently asked questions based on an analysis of citizen inquiries.

News of Belarus (BELTA)