September 8, 2001
On June 23, the lifeless body of Monzon Lima was found at the side of a Guatemalan motorway. He had been shot in the back after protesting against his dismissal for trade union activities and denouncing corruption at the company where he worked. In November, the Congolese trade unionist Odette Kasal Mukaj disappeared without trace. Observers believe the security forces are to blame. In Haiti, Elison Merzilus was abducted from his home in front of his wife and children. He was found dead a few days later. His crime: wanting to create a woman's association linked to his union. In India, two trade unionists from a car factory fought against their management for months. In October, their bodies were found near the factory perimeter.
This catalogue of violence comes from the latest edition (covering the year 2000) of the ICFTU Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights . Violence targeted at the women and men committed to defending their fellow workers against exploitation.
According to the Survey, which this year covers a record 140 countries, 27 more than in 1999, the trade union rights situation is the most disturbing in: Colombia, Guatemala, Venezuela, Costa Rica, China, South Korea, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Belarus and the Gulf States.
The geography of danger
Colombia is still the most dangerous country in the world for trade unionists. 153 trade unionists were assassinated or disappeared in 2000, an increase of more than 100% on 1999. Trade unionists are regularly the target of attacks not only by paramilitaries and guerillas, but also by the authorities and employers. The State has not mobilised the resources needed to implement effective protection programmes.
Colombia is not alone in making the American continent the most dangerous region in the world for trade unionists. In Guatemala, they are threatened with death and confronted with the constant inertia and complicity of the courts. In Venezuela, the independent trade union movement is threatened with extinction following the constant attacks by President Chávez who imposed a referendum on the election of new trade union leaders. In Costa Rica all collective bargaining is at risk further to a ruling by the constitutional court.
Asia has also recorded a record number of violations, and accounts for 71% of arrests and 87% of cases of harassment of trade unionists throughout the world. In China any attempt to create an independent trade union is immediately crushed. Those who try to organise one are sent to psychiatric hospitals or forced labour camps where they are singled out for ill-treatment.
Africa also set new records: in nearly 60% of the countries examined in the Survey, workers were dismissed for their trade union activities. In nearly one African country in two trade unionists have been arrested.
The annual Survey points to 108 countries where there are legal obstacles to the establishment of a trade union. Some ban trade unions altogether, like Bhutan, Burma and Equatorial Guinea. In the Gulf States, trade union rights are virtually non-existent. So-called Consultative Committees replace trade unions in Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. In Saudi Arabia trade unions are simply prohibited. Many other countries prevent all independent trade union activity, such as Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, Syria and Iraq. Trade unions in these countries are subservient to the government and do nothing to defend workers' interests.
While trade union repression in the developing countries is more violent, employers in the west also try to undermine the unions, but take a more cynical approach. In the United States, employers regularly call on professional ‘union busters' to destroy the union in their enterprise. In Canada, many sectors are not allowed to go on strike or to engage in collective bargaining. In Australia, the government distributed a manual to high-ranking civil servants on the tactics to use to sabotage collective bargaining with the unions. In Spain and the United Kingdom, the Survey reveals violations of trade union rights linked to using the internet.
Unions pay heavy price in struggle for democracy
In countries under authoritarian rule, unions are sometimes the only organised opposition. When the use of force is not enough to keep them quiet, the authorities do not hesitate to interfere in trade union affairs, forming puppet unions, confiscating union assets or aggravating divisions within the unions.
In Swaziland, one of the last absolute monarchies on the African continent, the government tried to pass a bill restricting trade union rights, particularly the right to strike. All strikes and protest demonstrations were repressed. It was only when threatened with the withdrawal of trading privileges that the government shelved the bill. But unions who actively campaign for democracy still face many restrictions. In Zimbabwe, dozens of opponents of President Mugabe's regime, including at least two trade unionists, fell victim to the violence that swept the country. The national trade union centre, ZCTU, was targeted by the authorities after condemning its behaviour. In Belarus, the trade union movement had to fend off numerous attacks by the presidential administration which impounded union bank accounts on several occasions and tried to bring dissident national centres under its control. In Fiji a coup d'état with strong racial undertones was condemned by the trade unions. The authorities responded to the announcement of a day of protest to call for the restoration of the rule of law by threatening all civil servants who took part. Many trade unionists were attacked or detained. In Peru, the national centre, CUT, joined the vast protest movement seeking to prevent the dictator Fujimori from serving a third presidential term. Its premises were ransacked and seven people were killed during the demonstrations.
Right to strike under threat
The right to strike has suffered particularly heavily from the negative consequences of unbridled globalisation. Force has repeatedly been used in the place of dialogue. Over 300 strikes or demonstrations in which trade unions took part were repressed by employers or the police, in nearly 90 countries around the world. All too often this resulted in the loss of human life. In Bolivia at least 14 people were killed by the police during two vast social movements calling for higher pay and lower water rates. In Costa Rica, Argentina and Paraguay, demonstrators also lost their lives. In Bangladesh, four workers were savagely killed by police in the port of Mongla while demonstrating to demand more staff.
In South Korea the police systematically intervene and imprison strikers on charges of "obstructing business". Since President Kim Dae Jung came to power, far more trade unionists have found themselves behind bars than during the government of his more authoritarian predecessor. In Indonesia, no less than 29 strikes were repressed. Employers often use hired thugs to mix the strikers to give the police an excuse to intervene. In Turkey the government instituted legal proceedings or administrative inquiries against 86,000 civil servants who took part in a strike it had declared illegal. In Morocco, no less than eight strikes were repressed and strikers are regularly taken to court and sentenced to prison terms. In the Central African Republic, the government tried every means, including violence, to undermine strikes by civil servants demanding the payment of salary arrears that in some cases dated back ten months. In all the Latin American countries cited in the report, with the exception of Cuba, at least one strike was repressed last year. In Ecuador and Venezuela, the police intervened violently in no less than 10 strikes. In Europe, the right to strike is also trampled on. In Belgium, employers frequently use the courts to put an end to strikes by imposing excessive restrictions on strike pickets.
Where no violence is used, the authorities often resort to legislation to restrict the right to strike…80% of the countries examined have adopted restrictive strike legislation. In Africa, this applies to 84% of countries. In many cases the law imposes long and cumbersome procedures, during which workers are rarely protected. In Lesotho, not a single strike has been recognised as legal since independence in 1996. The law also allows the government to requisition workers during strikes. In Burkina Faso and Niger, the government also gives itself the right to requisition strikers. The number of workers required for a legal strike to go ahead is often too high. In Costa Rica, the unions have to draw up a lists proving that 60% of workers agree to the strike. All strikes carried out in the country during the year were declared illegal. Many strikes are also banned if they threaten the country's economy. Authorities sometimes abuse this right, for example in Mexico where the government used this as an excuse to put an end to a strike at the national airline company, Aeromexico. In the Middle East, strikes are virtually non-existent. The authorities impose countless conditions restricting strikes, any breach of which can incur heavy prison sentences. Migrant workers, who make up the bulk of the workforce, can be sent back to their countries on the spot if they strike.
Many states prohibit entire sectors from striking by drawing up a very long list of so-called essential services. The Survey shows that no less than 59 states use this tactic. And while some governments are content to impose a few limitations, others ban all strikes outright, such as Cuba, North Korea, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Export-processing zones: rights-free zones
To counter these challenges, and in response to market pressure, there has been a steady growth in export processing zones. Here workers are usually deprived of all union rights. When unions are set up they are the target of constant attacks, with the support, if not participation, of the authorities. The Survey points to 33 countries where this problem exists. In the Philippines a study carried out in seven export processing zones in the country showed that unions were being targeted by employers who act with impunity. In Bangladesh trade unions are still banned from the zones and workers are harassed if they demand their rights. Five lost their lives after taking part in protests. Turkey still bans strikes, five years after the creation of its export processing zone. In Namibia, strikes continue to be banned in the zones. In Central America (Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Honduras and Panama) export processing zones (maquiladoras) are rights-free zones where trade unionists are constantly persecuted. Employers systematically sack workers who try to carry out trade union activities and sometimes set up workers' organisations themselves, on condition that there will be no strikes. In Mexico's maquiladoras, the employers do not hesitate to deal brutally with workers who try to set up independent trade unions.
For more information, please contact the ICFTU Press Department on +32 2 224 0232 or +32 476 62 10 18.
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