belarus executive summary - US Department of State

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BELARUS 54 The minimum age for employment is 16; however, a child as young as age 14 may conclude a labor contract with the written consent of one parent or a legal guardian. The Prosecutor General’s Office reportedly enforced the law effectively. Minors under age 18 were allowed to work in nonhazardous jobs but were not allowed to work overtime, on weekends, or on government holidays. Work was not to be harmful to the minors’ health or hinder their education. d. Acceptable Conditions of Work As of December 1, the national minimum monthly wage was 925,520 rubles ($112). As of December 31, the average monthly wage was 2,877,658 rubles ($348). As of November 1, the government set the poverty line at 574,790 rubles ($69) a month per capita. The first deputy minister of labor and social security reported on December 28 that 59 organizations paid their workers wages below the established national minimum monthly compensation. The law establishes a standard workweek of 40 hours and provides for at least one 24-hour rest period per week. Because of the country’s difficult economic situation, many workers worked considerably less than 40 hours per week, and factories often required workers to take unpaid furloughs due to lack of demand for the factories’ products. In May amid deepening financial crisis and lack of foreign currency proceeds, the head of the National Statistics Committee stated that approximately 600,000 workers in industries were on furloughs due to their companies’ failure to import raw materials. Given higher wages in Russia, labor migration to Russia, where Belarusians have the legal right to work, increased noticeably. The law provides for mandatory overtime and holiday pay and restricts overtime to four hours every two days, with a maximum of 120 hours of overtime each year. The law establishes minimum conditions for workplace safety and worker health; however, employers often ignored these standards. Workers at many heavy machinery plants did not wear minimal safety gear. There is a state labor inspectorate, but it lacked authority to enforce employer compliance and often ignored violations. As of November 1, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection reported 173 workplace fatalities, down from 202 in the same period in 2010. The ministry reported that the majority of workplace accidents were registered in the construction industry and were caused by carelessness, poor conditions, malfunctioning equipment, and poor training and instruction. The law does not Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
BELARUS 55 provide workers the right to remove themselves from dangerous and unhealthy work environments without risking loss of employment. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BELARUS Belarus i
Page 3 and 4: BELARUS 3 security or police office
Page 5 and 6: BELARUS 5 and bedding and inadequat
Page 7 and 8: BELARUS 7 bedding, lack of time out
Page 9 and 10: BELARUS 9 to the Minsk diplomatic c
Page 11 and 12: BELARUS 11 The law provides for the
Page 13 and 14: BELARUS 13 The prosecution overtly
Page 15 and 16: BELARUS 15 order to compel their te
Page 17 and 18: BELARUS 17 The law prohibits author
Page 19 and 20: BELARUS 19 Although authorities con
Page 21 and 22: BELARUS 21 welcomed the prosecutor
Page 23 and 24: BELARUS 23 Journalists reporting fo
Page 25 and 26: BELARUS 25 to include government op
Page 27 and 28: BELARUS 27 as a presidential electi
Page 29 and 30: BELARUS 29 Freedom of Assembly: The
Page 31 and 32: BELARUS 31 prodemocracy activists f
Page 33 and 34: BELARUS 33 During the year the Mini
Page 35 and 36: BELARUS 35 In practice the governme
Page 37 and 38: BELARUS 37 at local polling places
Page 39 and 40: BELARUS 39 pressuring a suspect to
Page 41 and 42: BELARUS 41 disrupted a news confere
Page 43 and 44: BELARUS 43 between ages 18 and 60 c
Page 45 and 46: BELARUS 45 five years in jail. Acco
Page 47 and 48: BELARUS 47 Wheelchair Users estimat
Page 49 and 50: BELARUS 49 17. However, authorities
Page 51 and 52: BELARUS 51 Tight government control
Page 53: BELARUS 53 year, which gave the gov
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