IMF criticised at international trade union conference in Minsk

An international conference of trade unions today took place in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. It was organized by International Trade Union Confederation in order to familiarize Belarusian experts with the consequences of loans issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The organizers were surprised that no Belarus official invited to participate attended the conference.

According to Alexander Yarashuk, the leader of the Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions, there was more negative assessments of the cooperation between IMF and many countries of the world.

“In the first place, talk is about the developing countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia. IMF has been criticized recently and we should not forget that the goals which IMF promotes lead to negative consequences for social security programs, population and workers. Therefore, the position of the international trade union movement is very principal. Trade unions should be part of the talks between IMF and governments”.

Pro-governmental trade unions were not invited to the conference, because they are dependent on the authorities and do not perform their function.