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The 2017 ITUC Global Rights Index the WORLD's WORST THE WORLD'S WORST COUNTRIES FOR WORKERS The 2017 ITUC Global Rights Index | 4 The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is a confederation of national trade union centres, each of which links trade unions of that particular country. It was established on 1 November 2006, bringing together the organisations which were formerly affiliated to the ICFTU and WCL (both now dissolved) as well as a number of national trade union centres which had no international affiliation at the time. The new Confederation has 340 affiliated organisations in 163 countries and territories on all five continents, with a membership of 181 million, 40 per cent of whom are women. It is also a partner in “Global Unions” together with the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD and the Global Union Federations (GUFs) which link together national unions from a particular trade or industry at international level. The ITUC has specialised offices in a number of countries around the world, and has General Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. The 2017 ITUC Global Rights Index | 6 Foreword .............................................9 ASIA .................................................. 70 Bangladesh ....................................... 71 Part I ..................................................13 Cambodia .......................................... 71 The 2017 Results ...............................14 China ................................................ 72 The ITUC Global Rights Index ...............19 Fiji .....................................................73 Description of the Ratings ...................21 India.................................................. 74 Worst Region in the World ...................23 Indonesia........................................... 74 The world’s 10 worst countries Korea (Republic of) ............................. 75 for workers .........................................25 Myanmar ........................................... 77 Most violated rights ............................33 Pakistan .............................................78 Noteworthy developments....................39 Philippines ......................................... 78 EUROPE ............................................ 80 List of indicators ................................45 Belarus.............................................. 81 Greece .............................................. 82 Part II .................................................53 Hungary ............................................ 82 Contents AFRICA .............................................. 54 Kazakhstan ........................................ 83 Benin ................................................ 55 Romania ............................................ 84 Botswana .......................................... 55 Russia ............................................... 84 Burundi ..............................................56 Serbia ............................................... 85 Madagascar .......................................56 Turkey ............................................... 86 Mauritania ......................................... 56 Ukraine ............................................. 87 Nigeria .............................................. 57 MENA................................................ 88 Senegal ............................................. 57 Algeria ...............................................89 Swaziland .......................................... 58 Bahrain ..............................................89 Zambia .............................................. 58 Egypt .................................................90 Zimbabwe ......................................... 59 Kuwait ................................................90 AMERICAS ......................................... 60 Iran ....................................................91 Argentina .......................................... 61 Lebanon .............................................92 Brazil................................................. 61 Qatar .................................................93 Colombia ........................................... 62 Saudi Arabia ......................................93 Ecuador ............................................. 63 Tunisia ...............................................94 Guatemala .........................................65 United Arab Emirates ..........................95 Honduras........................................... 65 Mexico .............................................. 66 Endnotes ...........................................97 Panama............................................. 67 Paraguay ........................................... 68 United States ..................................... 68 7 | | 8 The 2017 ITUC Global Rights Index provides an insight into workers’ rights violations around the world, which continue to be significant with arrests and violence against trade unionists a particular cause for concern. We know that the greater the level of respect for trade union rights by states and employers, the greater the levels of equality and justice there will be in any society. Therefore, it is important that violations of workers’ rights are recorded, analysed and publicised in pursuit of this goal. The Middle East and North Africa remains a dangerous place for trade unionists in terms of violence, arbitrary arrests and unjustified detention. It was once again the worst region in the world for workers. The very fact of being a trade Foreword unionist in many of the countries in the region often makes the exercise of freedom of association impossible in practice. Indeed, in our list of category 5+ countries where there is no guarantee of rights due to the breakdown of the rule of law, we have Palestine, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya. Other countries that are rated in category 5, because there is no guarantee of rights due to the mass exclusion of millions of migrant workers under the kafala system, include Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. In Africa, the category 5+ countries are Central African Republic, Eritrea, Somalia, Burundi, South Sudan and Sudan. Trends in Africa included the non-recognition of trade unions for collective bargaining and violent repression of street protests over violations of workers’ rights such as the non-payment of wages. Workers are frequently arrested and imprisoned as a tactic to resist demands for higher wages, decent and secure employment and safe working conditions. Zimbabwe, Benin and Nigeria were the worst performing countries in this region where unions are often demonised as being against the state or the nation’s economic development for the justified exercise of international labour rights. In Europe, trade unions have greater respect and support in society, benefiting from a strong culture and tradition of industrial relations, especially within the member states of the European Union. This is reflected in the lower level of violations in law and practice in the Index. European unions have often been wrongly categorised by the elite and right wing opponents as obstacles to economic competition and progress, especially since the onset of the economic crisis. Too often in recent years, this lobbying has resulted in restrictions in the 9 | capacity of trade unions being weakened in practice despite legal safeguards. In the UK, the worst anti-union legislation in a generation passed through Parliament, but some of the worst excesses of the bill placed before parliament were defeated by effective union campaigning by the TUC. The ten worst countries for workers are Qatar, the UAE, Egypt, the Philippines, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Guatemala, Turkey and Bangladesh. In addition, other countries have seen their ranking rise this year, including Ecuador and Myanmar (from category 3 to 5), Argentina (from category 3 to 4) and Brazil (from category 2 to 4). The number of countries in which workers were killed for their trade union activity rose from 10 to 11 (Italy, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Peru, Venezuela and Mauritania) and the number of countries where workers were exposed to violence increased from 52 countries in 2016 to 59 countries in 2017. This violence included threats, kidnappings and physical violence from state security forces and gangs working on behalf of companies. Rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly were violated in 50 countries in 2017. This is concerning as they are important enabling rights for workers. It is particularly important in the internet age for a message of equality, human rights and solidarity to be heard by the public and disseminated as widely as possible in order to influence policy and increase membership. The findings are derived from the ITUC Global Rights Index. Throughout 2016 and 2017, the ITUC has investigated and documented repression and abuses faced by workers who stood up for democratic rights and freedoms, equality and social justice. Based on the evidence collected, we have produced the fourth Global Rights Index rating 139 countries on the degree of respect demonstrated for workers’ rights. The Global Rights Index covers internationally recognised core labour standards, specifically civil rights, the right to bargain collectively, the right to strike, the right to associate freely and access to due process rights. The ability of workers to organise allows them to use their collective power to
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