Hardly had the primary organization of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union (BNP) of the workers of the Open Joint-Stock Company (OJSC) "Belshina" expressed its readiness to enter collective bargaining, the employer warned Mikhail Ustinovich, chairman of the primary organization, about his dismissal. According to the union leader, he managed to convince his director that the decision was wrong.

As reported by the press service of the BNP, the first step of trade-union activists undertaken after they received their Registration Certificate and a seal of their primary organization was to make a decision to take part in the forthcoming collective bargaining.

"We've just informed Director General of the company Dmitri Katerinich about our decision," said Mikhail Ustinovich. "We sent a letter to him with an offer to discuss the problems to be addressed at the bargaining.

In response, the administration first of all asked to confirm the status of the BNP's primary organization and endorse the copy of the Registration Certificate received at the local executive committee, although less than six months had elapsed after re-registration of the organization.

Getting sure of the legality of the trade union, the employer agreed to its participation in the bargaining; however, then notified the union leader Mikhail Ustinovich about his forthcoming dismissal.

Besides, according to the latter, the administration immediately found drawbacks in his work.

"I was invited to Director General," said Mikhail, "and I thought the forthcoming bargaining would be the topic; but he showed me an order about my dismissal. Frankly speaking, I told him straight that it was complete bosh! And since it happened on the eve of the new collective bargaining, I couldn't but relate his decision with my trade-union activities."

According to the union leader, he had a long talk with the Director, after which some confidence appeared that the dismissal order would be cancelled.

"I warned him about the consequences of such decision. I said that the issue would be raised at the level of the BNP and BKDP (Belarusian Congress of Democratic Trade Unions). Then, the conversation switched over into another track. We discussed the proposals of our organization and shook hands after the meeting. I hope the dismissal order will be cancelled. The Director asked to prepare documents for the bargaining and concluded: 'I don't think the enterprise will benefit from your dismissal.' We'll prepare the documents and start bargaining," Mikhail Ustinovich has summed up.