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Economist: Employees of Belarusian Enterprises To Dig Potatoes With Shovels

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Economist: Employees of Belarusian Enterprises To Dig Potatoes With Shovels

Skilled workers will be involved in low-paid manual labour.

Economist Vladimir Kovalkin, head of the Kosht Urada project, discusses what measures for social support of workers can be taken by Belarusian enterprises in the wartime economy.

The Avtotor automobile holding in Kaliningrad where BMW, Kia and Hyundai were assembled, donated to its workers 10 acres of land plots for vegetable gardens "due to the difficult economic situation". Will the Belarusian plants and factories adopt this experience taking into account the sanctions and the crisis?

- Yes, of course, it is possible. We are likely to witness such solutions. This practice existed in the 90s, when enterprises helped their employees get a plot of land to plant, for example, potatoes and support themselves," Vladimir Kovalkin recalls in his interview to Filin. - When I was a child, my grandfather and father were engaged in such agricultural work for 6-7 years - since the early 90s. Back then, our family lived in a small town in Polesye. Father's and grandfather's work provided us with land plots to cultivate potatoes. It helped us a lot to live through the winter.

The interlocutor points out that this practice was widespread at state-owned enterprises. They looked for land and gave it to the workers so that they could support themselves.

- We lived in five-storey residential buildings, and as soon as the season came to harvest potatoes, all our yards were lined with sacking, on which the potatoes dried before being sacked and stored in the cellars. It was a common practice.

According to Vladimir Kovalkin, this is a very effective measure amid the threat of famine.

- However, the problem is, by and large, political. We understand why Belarus is under sanctions. One main reason relates to the person who considers himself the President, who lost the elections and carried out repressions against his people, and then joined Russia's military aggression against Ukraine.

In the 21st century, people can be very poor and hungry. We observe this in North Korea. If a state is led by people who bully their people and organise military aggression against other nations.

So, unfortunately, the situation is like that. We will go back to the allocation of land for vegetable gardens, because the situation now is very similar to the one that took place during the collapse of the Soviet empire - supply chains were breaking down, GDP was falling. The same thing is happening now. Under the conditions of impoverishment, shrinking employment, falling GDP. People are trying to survive. They plant and grow crops, go hunting and fishing.

Vladimir Kovalkin believes employees of Belarusian companies are unlikely to be grateful that the authorities will allocate them land plots.

- They will be angry and hate the country's leadership, which has brought them to such a state. Instead of doing ordinary productive work, they have to dig potatoes with a shovel. However, it is hard to predict whether this turns into something more or just be a buzz of anger and resentment in the kitchens.

The expert also assumes the possibility that due to downtime at enterprises and the transfer to a part-time working week, management may offer workers farm work and low-paid manual labour, such as cleaning streets, grounds, and harvesting.

- But there is a difference between this practice and the allocation of land plots. Land plots are allocated as free rent. A person sows and harvests the crops on one's own. It is not about work for a collective farm. These are different concepts.

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