ICFTU SURVEY ON VIOLATIONS OF TRADE UNION RIGHTS 2004

(covering 2003)

What is the ICFTU Survey ?

A global view of violations of fundamental trade union rights

The flagship publication of the ICFTU

The most authoritative report of its kind

What are (some of) these rights ?Right to form and join trade

unions of one’s own choiceRight of trade unions to

function freely (without interference from employers or government)

Right to bargain collectively Right to take collective action

What are the sources of these rights ? ILO Convention C87 and C98 (see

Survey appendix) Universal Declaration of Human Rights International Covenant of Civil and

Political Rights International Covenant of Economic,

Social and Cultural Rights (including right to strike)

American Convention on Human Rights European Convention on Human Rights

What is the scope of violations in the Survey ?

Ranges from legislative barriers to the right to form unions or

take strike action to arrest and imprisonment,

to the murder of workers for their trade union activities

How old is the Survey ?

First edition appeared in 1984, further to decision of ICFTU’s 1983 Oslo Congress, which focussed on TUR.

1984 edition was 25 pages long

It covered 27 countries, incl. 4 in detail: Chile, Poland, South Africa, Turkey

The Survey Today

2004 edition – continent by continent, country by country, total 134 countries.

Covers year Jan-Dec 2003. Structure same for each country, listing:• Rights in law: looks at what the law says

on t.u. rights.• Rights in practice: how this is applied in

practice by governments and employers, plus general trends

• Violations in 2003: lists specific cases of rights violations during the year.

VITAL STATISTICS - 2003

Deaths: (killed for tu activities in 2003)

129

Death threats 359

Arrests 5,866

Imprisonment 236

Dismissal 380,059

Injuries / beatings / torture 553

Specific cases and issues in 2004 Survey

I. Big villains 1. Colombia : Deaths: 90 – Death

threats 295. Decrease on the 184 deaths of 2002, but attacks on personal freedoms and family members increased.

Impunity: 95 cases of reported violation go unpunished. Vast majority of deaths occurred while leaders actively involved in bargaining or other tu activity.

I. Big villains (ctd)

2. China : continues practice of lengthy prison sentences – including two activists sentenced to 7 and 4 years’ imprisonment on charges of « subversion » for fighting against corruption and unemployment in Liaoyang.

I. Big villains (ctd)

3. Burma : Federation of Trade Unions - continues to operate underground – three FTUB organizers received death sentences.

I. Big villains (ctd)

4. Korea : record number of arrests of trade unionists

– 1,900 in 2003, of which 201 led to prosecution.

PLUS NEW TREND – suing TU organisations and members for « damages » incurred during dispute – resulting in seizure of assets and wages.

Cripples the union and four individuals committed suicide as a result.

I. Big villains (ctd)

5. Middle East : • Some thawing but no trade union

rights in Qatar or Saudi Arabia in 2003,

• While elsewhere there are very limited representational rights or a single trade union system.

Also North Africa – no TU rights in Sudan or Lybia

II. Big issue – Globalisation, neo-liberal policies, etc.

Vast majority of the 50 million or so workers in EPZs still denied the right to trade union organising and collective bargaining.

Trade unions still under attack as a political threat – e.g. Zimbabwe, but more and more perceived as an economic threat.

II. Big issue – Globalisation, neo-liberal policies, etc. (ctd)

Typical exemple: Uganda – President Musoveni publicly admitted to mass dismissal of 265 textile workers for going on strike because they would « scare off the investors ».

In Algeria, Mauritius and Burundi, the government has the power to prohibit strikes they believe could damage the economy.

EUROPE

9 of the 10 new EU members cited in 2004 Survey.

Not the worst offenders, but:

Poland – many union activists dismissed

Czech Republic – discrimination such as cases where employers withheld wages of union officials

EUROPE (outside EU)

trend towards persuading workers to join unions loyal to national or local government such as Moldova, Georgia and Russian Federation.

BELARUS: worst offender Unions are under pressure to join the

government created Belarus Industrial Association, or face deregistration

Independent unions are refused registration.

EUROPE

Germany features regularly in the Survey because

• civil servants are still denied the right to strike

• while teachers in the public sector still do not have collective bargaining rights.

EUROPE (outside EU)

Turkey - now aiming for EU membership

• Serious restrictions on t.u. rights persist. Any worker wishing to join a union must have their decision recorded for a lawyer and must pay for this service. Candidates for union office must have worked for at least 10 years in the sector concerned and be a Turkish citizen.

EUROPE (outside EU)

Turkey - now aiming for EU membership

• Unions must obtain official permission to organise meetings or rallies, and must allow the police to attend their events and record the proceedings.

EUROPE (outside EU)

Turkey - now aiming for EU membership

• Solidarity strikes, general strikes and go-slows are banned.

• In 2003 the government effectively banned a strike by tyre workers’ at the Pirelli factory while 14 public sector workers lost their jobs after taking part in a one day strike.

EUROPE (outside EU)

Turkey - now aiming for EU membership

• The government supported the leading Turkish glassmaker Sisecam in its attempts to undermine the Kristal-Is union, and banned strikes in the glass industry for two months. By the end of the year 370 glass workers had been fired.

EUROPE (outside EU)

Turkey - now aiming for EU membership

• Finally, in a case that reached us too late to be reported in the 2004 survey, 85 health care workers are currently faces criminal charges after going on strike for an increase in the health budget and higher wages. They face up to a total of 255 years’ imprisonment.