Gennady Fedynich: Belarusians Should Earn $2-2.5 Thousand

Lukashenko is shifting the problems to the people of labor.

Belarusians work quite a lot - almost 1.9 thousand hours a year. If we look at the world rankings, the top countries in terms of working hours are Sudan, Jordan, and African countries. While Norwegians, Finns and the Netherlands work the least.

Lukashenko calls for Belarusians to work even more. Why doesn't this formula work? The site Charter97.org talked to the former political prisoner and trade union leader Gennady Fedynich about it:

- You understand, the situation is very simple. It is always very easy to shift the problems onto the people of labor. We should look at what kinds of technologies are developed in Belarus today, including at industrial enterprises. The most important thing is the motivation for labor.

In Belarus, compared to Europe, it is absolutely zero. Salaries are enough for people to live from paycheck to paycheck. And here lies the secret: a person must be motivated to want to work. And now he goes to work without any desire, because there is no decent motivation to work, there is no decent wages.

No doubt, every enterprise in Belarus has such structures, which today only provide overhead costs, but do not participate directly in the production itself. Of course, it is necessary to reconsider this situation.

But I will say once again: if there will be motivation to work and a person will earn at least 2-2.5 thousand in dollars, then the motivation will be different. There will be an increase in professionalism, and the desire to come to work, to work your allotted time and to know that today the enterprise needs you, and the enterprise needs you.

Lukashenko is so squeamish about Belarusians because GDP is falling, not growing in Belarus. There is nothing to put from the sick head to the healthy one - it is necessary to really analyze what is going on in the republic and why our people have such a low labor remuneration today. This is where we should start.

When this is started and completed, then it will be possible to tell people, if they don't do their job: you are not working well, we, the authorities, have done everything for you, but you are not working as it is really necessary.

But I will say: I am not sure that the authorities that exist in Belarus today are able to do it. People, according to the authorities, should be kept in tight grip so that they think only about how to live from paycheck to paycheck, and nothing else.

- European countries are among the top countries in terms of labor efficiency, while Belarus is still far from them. Who is to blame for this?

- Look at the situation. If you take the structure of any Western enterprise, there are no people who, to put it mildly, can be called "superfluous". Managers work there, workers work there. And they work from call to call. At the same time, they do not linger at work.

I was abroad and saw: when a person tightens a nut and the bell sounds for a break, he will not even finish it - he will leave. Because he knows that after the break he will do it. That is, people are responsible for their work and do it well.

Because if the labor remuneration in Belarus was the same as in Europe, the effect would be the same. In principle, people are the same everywhere - pros are pros.

I'll tell you frankly: in order for the economy of Belarus to grow in all sectors, we should talk not only about machine building or assembly plants, but about all sectors. Especially about state and collective farms. They earn only on harvesting, so that there would be enough for the whole year. And nothing else. The system of building the structure of all enterprises without exception should be done in such a way that there are no unnecessary people - that's one. Secondly, where possible, we should make enterprises private rather than state-owned. They will be more useful, because there will be no unnecessary people there. And there won't be relatives and acquaintances sitting in offices and shifting papers there either.

That's why everything depends not on the worker, but on the government - whether it is able to create decent motivation and working conditions for people of labor.

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