A/HRC/23/52 M. Labour rights and trade unions 103. Discriminative disadvantaging and intimidation of independent trade unions have continued, especially in the large State-owned sector. Belarus remains excluded from the trade preferences system of the European Union because of systematic violations, registered by the International Labour Organization (ILO), of workers‟ freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. In November 2012, ILO found that the Government of Belarus still failed to respond to its recommendations. 68 No improvement has been witnessed in the laws and practices impeding the registration of labour organizations outside the structures of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus. 104. The ILO Committee on the Freedom of Association noted several allegations of administrative and physical harassments of unionists. Complaints of continuing interference and anti-union pressure by the authorities were submitted by three unions. 69 The Committee registered allegations of arrest and detention, as well as beatings of trade union leaders and members, the search of the regional office of the Radio and Electronic Workers Union in Brest, and seizure of its computers, documents and seal. In the Gomel and Mogilev regions, more than 50 people reportedly lost their jobs owing to their independent trade union activism. 105. ILO regards the prohibition of forced and child labour as the cornerstone of international labour law. Officials in Belarus continue, however, to organize subbotniks, or unpaid weekend work (a traditional Soviet-era method of workforce mobilization) and unpaid agricultural work mostly required of students. Despite the fact that regulations relating to subbotniks specify that the work should be voluntary, employees have to perform either their regular work duties or tasks set by local executive authorities, such as cleaning the streets. Their salaries are calculated, but all earnings are transferred to funds for various public projects, such as the construction of a library in Minsk, a new museum dedicated to the Second World War or a nuclear power plant. 70 106. On 7 December 2012, President Lukashenka signed decree No. 9 on additional measures for the development of the wood processing industry. The new decree effectively takes away the right of workers in the wood processing industry to freely leave their jobs. The companies participating in the State-funded modernization project are obliged to pay benefits to their workers above and beyond their salaries. According to the new decree, employees wishing to leave the company against the will of their employers can be forced to either pay back the benefits or required to stay until the required amount has been withdrawn from their salaries. Currently, the decree affects fewer than 20,000 employees in Belarus. 107. When visiting the woodworking company OAO Mogilevdrev on 13 December 2012, the President commented that the essence of decree No. 9 was “forced labour”, stating that “they cannot quit without your authorization; those who do quit will have to do forced labour here.”71 In this way, decree No. 9 can be considered in violation of the core standards for employees' rights, especially the ILO Conventions concerning Forced or 68 69 70 71 20 International Labour Office, 366th report of the Committee on Freedom of Association (GB.316/INS/9/2) (available fromhttp://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/--relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_193261.pdf), paras. 1-28. Ibid., 352nd report, para. 68. BelarusDigest, “Belarusians forced to work on weekends”, 11 October 2011, available from http://belarusdigest.com/story/forced-labour-belarus-6117. Belarusian Telegraph Agency, “Lukashenko: Woodworking enterprises must fulfill decree No. 9”, 13 December 2012, available from http://news.belta.by/en/news/president?id=701681#.