5 June, 2015The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) has listed the ten worst countries in the world for workers in its Global Rights Index 2015 report.
IndustriALL Global Union is all too familiar with the findings, which found that Gulf states are among the worst for workers’ rights and that austerity measures in Europe have had the biggest impact on a decrease in standards.
The ITUC rights index ranks 141 countries against 97 internationally recognized indicators to assess where workers’ rights are best protected, in law and in practice.
The ten worst countries for working people are Belarus, China, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Swaziland and United Arab Emirates.
Other countries ranked lower but had worsening conditions this year in a clear negative trend for workers. These nations were Burundi, Dominican Republic, Hong Kong, Iran, Georgia, Russia, United Kingdom and Spain.
The report's key findings include:
- Out of a total of 141 countries, the number where workers faced arbitrary arrest and detention increased from 35 to 44, and included countries such as Spain and Brazil.
- In almost 60 per cent of countries, certain types of workers are excluded from their fundamental labour rights.
- Unionists were murdered in 11 countries, one up from last year, including 22 deaths in Colombia alone.
- Seventy per cent of countries have workers with no right to strike.
- Two thirds of countries deny workers collective bargaining rights.
More than half of countries in the survey deny workers access to the rule of law.
Read the full report here.