The letter of the Soligorsk District Executive Committee on registration of the primary organization of the Belarusian Independent Trade Union (BNP) of women-workers of the Joint Limited Liability Company (JLLC) "Delta Style" is more reminding correspondence with law enforcement bodies. In order to make a decision on possible legal activities of the trade union, the authorities requested additional information about the constituent meeting, down to tiniest details: who, where, with whom and why.

Let us remind you that the BNP primary unit of women-workers of the JLLC "Delta Style", where they sew female underwear of the well-known trademark "Triumph", was forced to hold a repeated constituent meeting. Initially, the city authorities refused to register the primary unit under the pretext that the trade union had missed the established deadline for addressing the registration body. The factory bosses, who also in every possible way hamper the work of the trade union, came to help the city authorities: the employer refuses to transfer the trade-union fees in the cashless manner.

In 40 days (instead of a month, as established) after a repeated address for registration, the district executive committee requested additional details about the course of the constituent meeting.

"Please provide us with the information about the particular place (address of the room), time and terms of granting the room (a copy of the gratuitous use or rental agreement) for holding the organizational meeting, the list of members of the trade union and others invitees, who took part in the meeting," runs the letter of the Soligorsk District Executive Committee signed by Ms Yaskevich.

"We understand that there is a deliberate protracting of the process in the hope that people will get tired to overcome all these barriers and give up as a hopeless endeavour, said Vasily Korobov, chairman of the BNP. "It is obvious that Soligorsk authorities only follow the order not to register our organization. It's not their initiative, I'm sure. Otherwise, why do they need this information only now? If these details are really so important; if there are doubts as to the real intention of the people to be members of our trade union, why not to request these data at once?"

According to the trade-union leader, his conversation with Tatiana Subbotina, an official of the local executive committee, once again convinced him of the correctness of his conclusion that the decision not to register our primary organization of the independent trade union was made at some higher level.

"Judging by the absence of arguments at the disposal of the official of the executive committee, she was just fulfilling the order received from above. I don't know for sure whose order, but I can guess," said Vasily Korobov. "The Soilgorsk city authorities know our trade union for dozens of years. They perfectly know that we are able to negotiate and that we'll never start unreasonable confrontation. But since they prefer the whip policy, we have no other way out. We'll address for help to the International Labour Organization and international trade-union community."