Activists of the Belarusian Radio and Electronic Workers' Union (REP) have submitted in total 30 applications to local authorities of the city of Minsk and the regions of the republic asking to sanction pickets dated to the International Children's Day. During their actions trade-union activists are going to demand return of privileges that had existed for young people and children less than 3 years of age.

"In Minsk we applied for a sanction to hold pickets in two places," Gennady Fedynich, Chairman of the REP Trade Union, told the website www.praca-by.info. "Namely, in the Gorky Park and opposite the building of the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, since this Ministry was the initiator of cancellation of privileges in 2007.

The trade union leader said that activists in Gomel have submitted 23 applications, and in other regions – one or two in each.

"The initiative of our Gomel colleagues cannot but please," Mr Fedynich has noted. "Why so many? Because people themselves have experienced the consequences of the unpopular decision of the authorities. The majority of our activists cannot remain indifferent to this problem. They all bring up their children and share the concern of the trade union about young families who scrape by bread and water and – additionally – were deprived of privileges.

Making comments on a possible ban by the authorities of the applied pickets, Gennady Fedynich has assured that trade union activists will anyhow find an opportunity to remind citizens another time about the need to return the privileges. He has assumed that "in case of illegal refusal to hold our actions, we, probably, won't be too law-abiding citizens."

"In whatever way the authorities try to hide this problem or to hold it back – they will fail. Because it is the problem not only of the trade union, it is a problem of the whole country. And we shall keep on raising this problem," the trade union leader has summed up.

Let us remind you that on June 14, 2007, President Lukashenko signed the Law "On State Social Privileges, Rights and Guarantees for Separate Categories of Citizens".

The Law cancelled a lot of privileges, including those that had existed for students and pupils and for children under the age of 3.

In particular, the Law cancelled free-of-charge medicines for children under 3 (except for children-invalids).

Children and other dependents of the perished or deceased citizens, who receive their breadwinner's loss, were deprived of free-of-charge medicines and prosthetic dentistry services.

Children of school age and students lost the public transport privileges.

"Liquidation of these privileges, while they are in force in all the neighbouring countries, has affected young families' budgets, and, hence, the children's rights to survival and proper nutrition," runs the statement of the REP Trade Union addressed to Minsk city authorities.