The forum "The Role of Regional Media in the Development of Social Partnership" was held in Minsk

More than 100 journalists from the republic took part in the forum. An event of this format is being held for the second time. For the first time, media representatives from the regions met with the leadership of the national trade union center and the Ministry of Information in December last year. Then, the Chairman of the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus, Mikhail Orda, told the forum participants in detail about the work of trade unions, in particular, he informed that in just one half of 2016, trade union lawyers recovered more than 1 million 700 thousand rubles illegally withheld by employers, and also reinstated 79 people at work.

As the Minister of Information, Lilia Ananich, noted during the current meeting, there has been a noticeable increase in stories and articles about the activities of trade unions recently. According to the minister, such interest is understandable.

– Journalists should talk about what will benefit people and the state, about real life, and trade unions are always where real life is, – noted Lilia Ananich. – I want to thank the Federation of Trade Unions for carrying out a great state task and conducting systematic work in the sphere of information policy, reflecting its important social aspects.

Forum participants were interested in the tasks that the national trade union center sets for itself in the near future. Answering journalists' questions, Mikhail Orda emphasized the need to support people in the conditions of modernization and restructuring of enterprises, the importance of systematic professional development of workers, the improvement of the public control system for labor protection, and much more.

Mikhail Orda and Lilia Ananich thanked the journalists for their thoughtful work. During the event, a ceremony was held to award journalists from 10 regional mass media. The authors of the best articles and stories about trade unions received letters of appreciation from the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus and Certificates of Honor from the Ministry of Information for covering significant topics in the life of society. Among the awardees were journalists from Vitebsk region – the editor-in-chief of the Orsha district newspaper "Arshanskaya Gazeta" Anastasia Turok and the executive secretary of the Postavy district newspaper "Pastavski Krai" Anna Anishkevich.

Elena Ustinova, press service of the FPB for the Vitebsk region.