29 July 2002
Trade unions in Brest elect new leader

 Vladimir Mirochnik resigned on July 26 as chairman of the Regional Trade Union Association in Brest in southwestern Belarus following a July 11 vote of no confidence against him.
At its July 26 plenary conference, the Association voted 181 to two to accept his resignation. Three delegates abstained. Nikolai Basalai, who until last month was the chief executive official of one of Brest's districts, was then elected to lead the Association. He was the only
candidate.
The Association also adopted a resolution urging its parent organization, the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, to send its Presidium into resignation and petition the Belarusian government to lift its ban on checkoffs of union dues.
"Today's decision was a decision of the majority," said Ivan Semenyuk, leader of the Brest branch of the Belarusian public servants' union. "We need consolidation, unity and constructive work. Conflicts and disagreements must stop. Though late, Mirochnik did what a man had to do." Zinaida Mikhnyuk, of the Union of Electronic Workers, told
BelaPAN she was "ashamed of what happened in this room." "I am not against trade union reform, but I deplore these methods. I am not ashamed of our regional leader," she said.