Today in Geneva the International Trade Union Confederation is releasing to the world the results of its annual Global Rights Index.
The picture it paints is not a pretty one:
- Trade unionists were murdered in ten countries - Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey and Zimbabwe.
- 85% of countries have violated the right to strike.
- 80% of countries deny some or all workers collective bargaining.
The number of countries which exclude workers from the right to establish or join a trade union increased from 92 in 2018 to 107 in 2019. - Workers had no or restricted access to justice in 72% of countries.
- The number of countries where workers are arrested and detained increased from 59 in 2018 to 64 in 2019.
Out of 145 countries surveyed, 54 deny or constrain free speech and freedom of assembly. - Authorities impeded the registration of unions in 59% of countries.
- Workers experienced violence in 52 countries.
You can now download the full report here.
What can we do about this?
First of all, let's make sure that every single member of our unions knows about this report. We cannot guarantee that the mainstream media will give it the publicity it needs. But if every single person who gets this email message shares it with others, the impact will be enormous.
Please -- share this email, share the link to the ITUC Global Rights Index, post it on Facebook and Twitter.
Together, there are millions of us. Together, we can reverse these trends and ensure that the rights of all workers are respected, no matter where they live.
Thank you.