Labor Mobilization in Belarus

• In Event: Gender, Labor, and Disability Politics in Post-Socialist Contexts

Abstract

The dominant assumption in the political science literature is that trade unions play a vital role in mobilizing the working class against its adversaries. Yet, state repression in autocracies significantly undermines the capacity of trade unions to defend labor rights. Moreover, trade unions are barred from organizing strikes with political demands. This paper argues that informal social networks in the workplace and ad hoc strike committees have a stronger impact on labor mobilization against state authorities than officially registered trade unions, including legacy trade unions and independent trade unions. The study uses the case of the 2020 labor mobilization in Belarus, one of the most repressive political regimes in contemporary Europe, to explore the role of formal and informal networks in facilitating labor protests. Data for this project come from in-depth interviews with Belarusian industrial workers living in exile in the European Union and Telegram channels launched by strike committees at major state enterprises. This study seeks to contribute to comparative politics literature by demonstrating the significance of informal social ties in sustaining labor activism in a repressive political regime.

Author

• Olena Nikolayenko, Fordham U