Democratic space shrinks and unchecked corporate greed on the rise

ITUC Global Rights Index 2018: Democratic space shrinks and unchecked corporate greed on the rise

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Shrinking democratic space for working people and unchecked corporate greed are on the rise according to the annual ITUC Global Rights Index. The number of countries with arbitrary arrests and detention of workers increased from 44 in 2017 to 59 in 2018, and freedom of speech was constrained in 54 countries

“Democracy is under attack in countries that fail to guarantee people’s right to organise, speak out and take action. Brazil passed laws that denied freedom of association, China restricted free speech and the military was used to suppress labour disputes in Indonesia,” said Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation.

More countries are excluding workers from labour law – from migrant workers, public sector employees to workers in platform businesses, with 65% of countries excluding whole categories of workers from labour law.

“Decent work and democratic rights grew weaker in almost all countries, while inequality continued to grow. This was fuelled by the outrageous behaviour of many multinational companies, such as Samsung whose anti-union practices deny workers freedom of association and collective bargaining rights, as shown in internal company documents seized from their offices in Korea. And the corporate power of Amazon continues to grow unchecked, from treating workers like robots to threatening to halt its expansion in Seattle over tax proposals to create affordable housing,” said Burrow.

The ITUC Global Rights Index 2018 ranks 142 countries against 97 internationally recognised indicators to assess where workers’ rights are best protected in law and in practice.

The report’s key findings include:

•  65% of countries exclude some groups of workers from labour law.
•  87% of countries have violated the right to strike.
•  81% of countries deny some or all workers collective bargaining.
•  Out of 142 countries surveyed, 54 deny or constrain free speech and freedom of assembly.
•  The number of countries in which workers are exposed to physical violence and threats increased by 10% (from 59 to 65) and include Bahrain, Honduras, Italy and Pakistan.
•  Countries where workers are arrested and detained increased from 44 in 2017 to 59 in 2018.
•  Trade unionists were murdered in nine countries - Brazil, China, Colombia, Guatemala, Guinea, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria and Tanzania.

The 2018 ITUC Global Rights Index rates countries from one to five according to 97 indicators, with an overall score placing countries in rankings of one to five.

•  1 Sporadic violations of rights: 13 countries including Ireland and Denmark.
•  2 Repeated violations of rights: 23 countries including France and Estonia.
•  3 Regular violations of rights: 26 countries including Spain and Macedonia.
•  4 Systematic violations of rights: 38 countries including Haiti and Kenya.
•  5 No guarantee of rights: 32 countries including Honduras and Nigeria.
•  5+ No guarantee of rights due to breakdown of the rule of law: 10 countries including Burundi, Palestine, Syria and Yemen.

Source : https://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-global-rights-index-2018-20299