International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU)

 

TRADE UNION RIGHTS VIOLATIONS REPORTED
IN THE 1998 ANNUAL SURVEY
In 1997 nearly 300 trade unionists were killed for standing up for their rights, 1681 were tortured or ill-treated, 2329 were detained, there were 3369 cases of intimidation and there was blatant interference in union affairs in 79 countries, according to this year's Survey, published on 13 June 1998 by the ICFTU.

 "Fifty years after the adoption of the ILO Convention 87 on Freedom of Association - the most basic of labour rights - trade unionists are still having to fight for the right to organise. ", said ICFTU General Secretary Bill Jordan, introducing this year's Survey of Trade Union Rights.

299 people murdered

  • Colombia holds the unenviable record of 156 trade unionists, including 61 teachers, murdered, mainly at the hands of paramilitary death squads which roam the country.

  • Algeria: Abdelhak Ben Hamouda, head of the General Workers' Union of Algeria was assassinated outside the union headquarters;

  • India: two textile workers were shot dead during demonstrations.

2,329 people were detained for carrying out trade union activities.

  • Ethiopia: 70 teachers were detained for signing a letter denouncing government repression.

  • Indonesia, the government has been harassing and intimidating the independent trade union the SBSI, for six years, including putting its leader Mucktar Pakpahan on trial. However, this May, following the change of government, Pakpahan was freed and ICFTU General Secretary, Bill Jordan, flew to Jakarta to congratulate him.

Ill-treatment: 1,681 trade union activists ill-treated for standing up for their rights.

  • Dominican Republic: In the Santiago export processing zone, armed bands threatened workers with clubs, knifes and guns.

  • Swaziland: the SFTU has been pressing the King to institute reforms, but police beat up workers during peaceful demonstrations. Mxolisi Mbata, the SFTU treasurer, was thrown from his wheelchair and forced to crawl to the police station, after police had opened fire.

  • Kosovo, police shot at teachers and primary school children during protests by Albanians demanding to be taught in their own language.

Interference in union affairs: 79 governments.

  • USA: at least one in ten union supporters campaigning to form a union is illegally fired.

  • Nigeria: union centres have been closed down since strikes in 1995, and are currently being run by government administrators.

  • Australia : the government has been encouraging the recruitment of mercenaries to break the power of the dock workers.

Workers Still Dare to Organise

"What is staggering about the report", said Bill Jordan, "Is that even where repression of trade unionists is at its worst - as in Colombia or China, the human spirit survives and in the face of terrible repression, workers still dare to organise for their rights.

  • The 1997 Survey detailed terrible working conditions in Cambodian factories. This year's tells of Cambodian workers striking at the Hong Kong-owned Tack Fat Garments factory over long hours and low pay.

  • Workers in Bolivia continue to push for negotiations over a living wage, despite the 1996 "Christmas massacre,

  • UK workers at the Co-SteeI Sheerness continue to organise despite being spied on by management.

Growing number of countries violate trade union rights.

Each year the numbers of countries violating trade union rights is increasing, says the ICFTU - this year's total is 116, and Norway features in the survey, because of its ban on strikes in the oil industry. Israel was mentioned this year - only for the second time since the Survey began. The Minister of Finance described workers involved in a general strike in December 1997 as "enemies of the state" and compared striking municipal workers to "ticking bombs".

Fifty Years after Convention 87

Although the International Labour Conference adopted Convention 87 on Freedom of Association fifty years ago, governments continue to put legal obstacles in its way.

  • Korea: the government has been trying to put anti-union laws into effect, and refused to register a union representing 500,000 workers.

  • Germany: The ILO has criticised the government for the last 29 years for refusing civil servants the right to strike.

  • Honduras: government promises investors that unions will not be tolerated in free trade zones.

  • In most Gulf States trade unions are forbidden

‘On the 50th Anniversary there must be decisive progress towards universal ratification,’ says the ICFTU. ‘The challenge of our age is to make globalisation work for people and for social justice. Convention 87 is the heart of the challenge to construct a global economy based on social justice and the respect of fundamental rights.’