Belaruskali (Belarusian: Беларуськалій, Russian: Беларуськалий) is one of the largest state-owned companies of Belarus. It is one of the largest producers of potash fertilizers in the world, accounting for 20% global supply as of 2019.[2][3]
Belaruskali is the largest single taxpayer in Belarus[4] and an important source of foreign currency of the Belarusian government.[2] As of 2015, it accounted for 11% of tax revenues of Minsk Region.[5]
Most of Belaruskali's production is exported to China.[2][3]
History
The company was established in 1958 and comprises four production units, as well as auxiliary shops and service departments.[3] The Belarusian Potash Company is the main distributor of potash fertilizers produced by Belaruskali.[6][7]
Worker rights issues and political repressions
In 2020, four thousand workers of Belaruskali have declared a strike as part of mass peaceful nationwide protests that followed a controversial presidential election, demanding resignation of Alexander Lukashenko and new democratic elections.[8] There have been cases of miners cuffing themselves underground as part of the strike.[9]
According to reports, Belaruskali management threatened and put psychological pressure on the strikers.[10] Belaruskali paid extra bonuses to workers not participating in the strike.[11]
The Belarusian authorities arrested and imposed 15-day prison sentences on some of the striking workers at Belaruskali.[12][13] Four activists of the Belaruskali labour union - Siarhei Charkasau, Pavel Puchenia, Yury Korzun and Anatol Bokun - were arrested after the strike began. 49 Belaruskali workers were fired for participating in the strike, several had to flee from the country.[14][15]
The arrested activists were later released following an international solidarity campaign,[16] fired workers were reinstated following inquiries from Yara International, the largest trader of Belaruskali's products, regarding worker rights violations at Belaruskali.[17][18][11]
International sanctions
In 2020, Belaruskali became one of the centers of strikes after the presidential election and violence against protesters.[19] On November 19, Belaruskali fired 49 striking workers, purportedly for absenteeism.[20]
On 24 June 2021, the European Union has introduced restrictions on potash trade with Belarus as a reaction to "the escalation of serious human rights violations in Belarus and the violent repression of civil society, democratic opposition and journalists, as well as to the forced landing of a Ryanair flight in Minsk on 23 May 2021 and the related detention of journalist Raman Pratasevich and Sofia Sapega."[21]
In 2022, Canada, the EU and Switzerland imposed sanctions against Belaruskali, its CEO Ivan Golovaty, and the Belarusian Potash Company.[27][28][29] In January 2023, the enterprise was included in the sanctions list of Ukraine.[30] In September 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union refused to lift the EU sanctions against Golovaty, Belaruskali and the Belarusian Potash Company.[31]
