ICFTU 2006 Annual Survey on abuses of Trade Union Rights
07 Jun '06
3 min read
ICFTU declares report on vilotauon of rights and here it follows: There is no doubt about it. Apart from Colombia, the worst violators of union rights in the Americas are multinational companies, and particularly those based in the region's export processing zones (EPZs).
The ICFTU's 2006 Annual Survey on Violations of Trade Union Rights also documents other obstacles to the respect of those rights, such as the rise of the informal economy, the lack of commitment of governments and industrial tribunals to ensure respect of labour legislation, and the huge increase in insecure employment contracts.
Despite a small decrease, the figures for 2005 remain alarming in the Americas, particularly in the southern part of the continent. No fewer than 80 people were killed simply for being union members and trying to defend their rights. 275 trade unionists received death threats, over 480 were tortured, beaten or injured and around 1,700 were unfairly dismissed.
It will come as no surprise to learn that Colombia is still the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist. More than 70 unionists were assassinated whilst a further 260 received death threats. Far from solving the problem, the new Law on Justice and Peace merely increases the impunity enjoyed by the assassins.
But Colombia is sadly not the only American country where it is extremely dangerous to do union work. In Brazil, 8people defending the rights of rural workers were murdered and one employee in the shoe industry died of strangulation when the police broke up a demonstration. In Honduras, Francisco Cruz Galeano, the regional coordinator of the CGT union centre, was murdered last December.
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