Social Minister Iryna Kastsevich has told channel Belarus 1 how many Belarusians were added to the ‘parasites’ database which includes their names, dates of birth, identification numbers, information about their residence registration.
“As of December 1, the database has been made and put into operation. It includes information on about 500,000 people, more detailed, region-wise information will be provided later, ” the top official said.
Thus, every tenth economically active Belarusian will find themselves in the base.
Interestingly, the number of unemployed Belarusians remains almost unchanged in official reports year on year.
Currently, 4,356,000 people are employed in the country’s economy; 14,600 persons are oficially jobless, the National Statistical Committee said in October.
A month ago, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection said that Belarusians who receive education or work abroad will not be included in the list of the so-called social parasites, but only on condition that they can officially confirm that they found a job or study. All necessary documents need to be translated into Russian or Belarusian. Then these documents are to be submitted to the commission promoting employment of the population at the citizen’s registration place.
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Decree Nr 3 signed by Alyaksandr Lukashenka in April, 2015 established the obligation of the citizens of Belarus, foreign citizens permanently residing in Belarus, stateless persons, who did not participate in the financing of public spending or participated in such financing less than 183 days (six months – ed.) in the past year, to pay a fee of 20 basic units (appr. $230).
The notorious decree caused a massive public outcry. In the spring of 2017, it triggered a wave of protests across the country. As a result, the implementation of the infamous ‘parasite’ law was put on the back burner.
- Legal mayhem in Belarus: Activists, journalists fined, jailed after protests against tax on idlers
- ‘Red tape men are main idlers’: Belarusians protesting infamous ‘parasite’ law in Brest
- Belarusians outraged by tax on ‘idlers’: Proof provided by Belsat TV to go to Lukashenka
In January 2018, Alyaksandr Lukashenka signed Decree No. 1, which provides for measures to promote employment of the population. The new decree did not include norms on taxing non-working population. Persons who were previously recognized as payers of this fee were exempted from it.
In April, the government decided on the people subject to Decree No. 1. There is now a list of services to be paid in full by ‘parasites’.
As reported earlier, the Labour Ministry was tasked with creating a database of ‘idlers’ by December 1, 2018. It will be updated on a quarterly basis.
