16 May, 2023Global inequality is on the rise and we need to take action. IndustriALL has developed twelve building blocks needed for a just future and to close the inequality gap. We need fundamental workers’ rights, with full implementation of ILO C87 and C98, and labour laws at national level that allow workers to defend themselves.
Workers’ rights across the globe, are under attack and trade unions play a huge role in defending workers and fighting to make their lives better.
In South Korea government authorities interfere in legitimate trade union activities and workers’ rights, even though the country ratified ILO Conventions 89 and 98 in 2021. On May Day Yang Hoe-Dong, a district leader of the Korean Construction Workers Union (KCWU), tragically set himself on fire to protest harassment of trade unionists by government authorities.
Unions in Thailand are calling on the government to implement ILO Convention 87 on freedom of association and the protection of the right to organize, and ILO Convention 98 on the right to organize and bargain collectively. However, the Thai government argues that the conventions cannot be ratified until domestic labour laws are amended and national security concerns addressed.
The ILO Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work is a commitment by governments, employers' and workers' organizations to uphold basic human values. Adopted in 1998 and amended in 2022, the Declaration commits member states to respect and promote eight fundamental principles and rights in five categories, whether or not they have ratified the relevant Conventions.
Health and safety is a fundamental principle and right at work, adopted by the ILO in 2022. Shipbreaking is considered to be one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. This year is crucial for improving safety, because Bangladesh has committed to ratifying the Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC). When the Convention enters into force, it will create a health and safety baseline that will drive up conditions and transform the lives of shipbreaking workers on the subcontinent and elsewhere.
IndustriALL's global campaign for the ratification and implementation of ILO C176 - Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995, is a fundamental pillar of IndustriALL’s Strategic Approach to OSH in the Mining Industry, the Trade Unions Save Lives effect. In recent years Pakistan has become a country of focus for the global campaign and good progress is being made with social partners in Pakistan with the help of the ILO Pakistan country office and ILO headquarters.
We need to work together to fight for workers’ rights and achieve a #justfuture.