RUSSIAN FEDERATION SUPPORTS ARMED INTERVENTION IN UKRAINE AND ANNEXATION OF CRIMEA

Below you find the press release of 22 of March of the Ukranian Trade Union confederation VOST “VOLYA” about the position of the Russian Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia FNPR, which supported the armed intervention of Russia against Ukraine and the following annexation of the Crimea.

“On the 1st of March the Council of Federation of Russia gave Putin its consent to use Russian armed forces in Ukraine and, as the official website of the FNPR informs, on the next day in Moscow under an active part of the FNPR the manifestation of solidarity took place for the support of the so-called “compatriots” and the people of Ukraine who has become a victim of political adventurers and nationalists. 

As the website of the FNPR informs, from the 3rd of March to the 18th of March structures of the FNPR organized the same meetings in Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Novocherkask and other cities of Russia. At these events they supported the aggressive land-grabbing policy of Putin towards Ukraine, the armed intervention and annexation of the Crimea and called the new legitimate Ukrainian government, the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian workers who won the criminal, extremely corrupted, bloody dictator regime to be fascists and nazis that is a cynic overt lie in the manner of kremlin-NKVD and Goebbels propaganda. The FNPR stir up hostility in Ukraine and seed chauvinism in Russia by these actions and by insulting, humiliating and false characteristics about the Ukrainian people who overthrew the tyrant. 

The above-mentioned position of the FNPR has nothing to do with the respect for workers’ rights in their aspiration to decent work in the independent democratic civilized just Ukrainian state and the principles of

international trade union solidarity the FNPR should have kept as a member organization of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) (VOST is a member of the same organization) and its European branch –

Pan-European Regional Council (PERC).

VOST “VOLYA” (VOST) calls

all international, regional, national trade union centers and public organizations:

- to express the strong protest against the shameful position of the FNPR which supported the land grabbing armed intervention of Russia against Ukraine and annexation of the Crimea

- to consider actions of the FNPR which humiliate the dignity of the Ukrainian people who made the Revolution of Dignity to be unacceptable

- to define whether the further cooperation and contacts with the FNPR are acceptable”

Russian Prime Minister Putin was one of the Very Important Persons at the
Jubilee Meeting of the General Council devoted to the 20th anniversary
of the FNPR on September 18th, 2010. The Jubilee meeting was held at
Moscow's Pillar Hall of the House of Unions.
(See Front page of the ILO Newsletter of the Decent Work Technical Support Team
and Country Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, 3 (42) September 2010)

The ITUC/PERC published the following statement on its website “The conditions for operation of trade unions in Ukraine.”

24 March 2014: Following the dramatic events in Ukraine since November 2013 the country is facing very serious challenges ahead which will necessitate full mobilisation of the creative energy of the people and sound public consensus on the way out of the crisis. Social dialogue and trade unions are key to a developing a comprehensive and balanced policy of reforms that takes account of all interests involved. They can make a major input in preventing dangerous accumulations of negative social effects in the implementation process that can lead to eruptions of social discontent and further complication of the stabilisation and recovery process.

The above statement does not refer to the violation of the borders of Ukraine by the Russian military invasion of the Crimea with the ultimate result of the annexation of the Crimea. This territorial violation by Russia has led to great unrest among the European nations, especially in the Baltic states, which due to their past history with the Soviet Union, have Russian minorities within their borders. With its actions Russia evokes memories from the times of the Cold War, when the Soviet dictatorship extended to almost half of the European countries, and Europe was cruelly divided by the so-called Iron Curtain.

In contrast, the ETUC calls in its “Five-Point Plan for Ukraine” to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the withdrawal of all armed forces.

“A five-point plan for immediate measures to secure a peaceful and acceptable way out of the crisis in Ukraine was endorsed by the ETUC at their executive committee meeting on 11-12 March 2014.
Trade union organisations representing workers throughout the European continent call for:

• De-escalation of tensions, respect for the Ukrainian Constitution, territorial integrity and withdrawal of all armed forces;
  
• Free and fair elections to shift to a genuine democratic political system, respect for the rights of all, and investigation of all acts of violence, illegal appropriation of public money and abuse of public office;
  
• Economic assistance packages from the EU and international financial institutions,
  
• Dialogue between Government, employers and trade unions, and
  
• Support for efficient and affordable public services, including priority for stability measures.”
  
  
  
  
  
  The below Statement of the Federal Executive Board of the Confederation of German Trade Unions DGB regarding the current events in Ukraine, is mostly in line with the ETUC Five-Point Plan.

“4 March 2014: The Federal Executive Board of the Confederation of German Trade Unions is deeply concerned about the current events in Ukraine. It calls on all those involved to do everything possible to avoid a military conflict.
International law and human rights should be respected by all parties, especially regarding
 the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of Ukraine
 the protection of minority rights in Ukraine
 the ruling out of further escalation of the conflict in Crimea and in other parts of Ukraine

The DGB Federal Executive Board strongly believes that decisions regarding the future development of Ukraine and its regions require wide democratic legitimacy. Ukraine needs a perspective for the future that can only be agreed through dialogue, and not through armed force. We urge all those with positions of responsibility in Ukraine, in Russia and in the European Union to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict.”