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1. In its 2004 observation, the Committee noted the report of the Commission of Inquiry appointed under article 26 of the ILO Constitution to examine the situation of trade union rights in Belarus. It expressed the hope that the important measures that the Government was called upon to adopt in order to respond to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry would also ensure the effective application of Convention No. 144. It requested the Government to report on the progress made, particularly in the application of Articles 1, 2 and 5 of the Convention.

2. The Committee notes the Government’s report on the application of the Convention received in September 2005 which includes an observation formulated by the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions (CDTU). It notes the minutes of the meeting held by the tripartite group of experts on the application of ILO Conventions in April and July 2005. In its report, the Government also indicates that the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection assumes responsibility for the administrative support of the group of experts, including sending the invitations to participate in its meetings.

3. Free choice of workers’ representatives. In its communication, the CDTU points out that the Government invited, in July 2005, its representative to the National Council for Labour and Social Issues to participate in the meeting of the tripartite group of experts on the application of ILO Conventions. The CDTU expresses its concerns about the fact that the Government decided unilaterally the appointment of the workers’ representative to the meetings of the group of experts, in violation of Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Convention. The CDTU indicates that it is not for the Government to decide who represents the workers’ organizations in the process of social dialogue. The CDTU urges the Government to restore its elected representative to represent the organization in the National Council for Labour and Social Issues. In this regard, the Committee recalls that Article 3 of the Convention provides that "the representatives of employers and workers for the purposes of the procedures provided for in this Convention shall be freely chosen by their representative organizations". The Committee reminds that the principle of free choice is respected if the organizations themselves appoint their representatives directly (paragraph 44 of the General Survey of 2000 on tripartite consultation). It further recalls that the determination of the most representative organizations must be based on objective, pre-established and precise criteria so as to avoid any possibility of bias or abuse. In addition, the Commission of Inquiry recommended that the CDTU should be allowed to participate through whichever representative it designates to the work of the National Council on Labour and Social Issues. The Committee therefore asks the Government to ensure the free choice of workers’ representatives in the tripartite consultation on international labour standards as required by the Convention and to respond to the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on this important issue. It again asks the Government to report in detail on the measures taken in order to implement effective tripartite consultation in the sense of the Convention.

[The Government is asked to report in detail to the present comments in 2006.]