Columbia is the most dangerous place to be a trade unionist, while Zimbabwe tops the list of trade union repression in Africa, according to the survey on violations of trade union rights released by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) this week.
Worldwide, 213 trade unionists were killed or disappeared during 2002, more than 2 000 were arrested, almost 1 000 injured and over 30 000 workers lost their jobs for union activities between January to December 2002.
The survey of 133 countries covers violations ranging from murders, arbitrary arrests, outright bans or legislative limitations on labour organisation, non-payment of wages to severe restrictions or outright bans on trade union rights in export processing zones in developing countries.
Trade unions are almost non-existent in the Gulf States with Saudi Arabia banning them by royal decree, while Palestinians are not allowed to join Israeli unions.
Trade unions are outlawed in North Korea.
In many of the newly independent eastern European states the privatisation of public enterprises has left hundreds of thousands of workers with no jobs or compensation. Elsewhere in Europe, Spain excludes ”irregular workers” from union rights, some cantons in Switzerland have yet to adopt the federal law on the right to strike and in Germany public school teachers are excluded from collective bargaining while no public servant is allowed to strike.
The 2002 annual report estimates a 10% increase in the number of killings related to trade union activity, with 184 documented murders in Columbia.
Violence against trade union members also ranked high in the 37 African countries surveyed. Zimbabwe accounted for 125 of the 200 incidents of violence against trade unionists on the continent.
”The year was marked by the highest degree of violence and intimidation that Zimbabwe had ever experienced against trade unionists and pro-democracy advocators,” the country report said.
The report reads: ”New legislation [the Public Order and Security Act] was adopted to suppress any kind of opposition and the trade union movement was the first victim. Trade union meetings were monitored or banned, unionists were constantly under pressure and union leaders were repeatedly arrested and intimidated.”
Several Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) leaders were beaten up, and their homes attacked, while in April 2002 pressure was brought to bear on workers to sign up with the Zanu-PF- aligned Zimbabwe Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU).
Côte D’ Ivoire and Gabon for the first time are listed: respectively for the beating up of seven hunger strikers during protests over the non-payment of wages by Air Afrique and the dismissal of 500 municipal workers following a strike in 2002.
In Nigeria trade union rights remain severely limited in the oil production areas and export processing zones. Other limitations include the requirement of at least 50 workers to form a trade union and the strike ban for custom and immigration officials and central bank workers. There is increasing casualisation of the workforce, particularly in the oil sector, and employers’ refusal to recognise unions.
In January at least 50 trade unionists, including Nigeria Labour Congress president Adams Oshiomhole and nine other leaders, were arrested during the nationwide protests against petrol price hikes. At least 50 policemen were arrested in February 2002 after their strike over wage arrears was classified a mutiny.
In South Africa, even though law guarantees union rights, in reality these are often not respected and enforcement is spotty.
Singled out for violations is the agricultural sector, where employers are hostile to trade unionists who are regarded as trespassers on private property, and foreign-owned companies. Also listed are several cases of violence against striking workers, including the death of two miners killed by security guards at East Rand Proprietary Mines on the East Rand.
The country report records the prompt action after two babies died because paramedics could not reach the mother, who was locked up in the workplace, and follow-up inspections on complaints from the Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers’ Union (Sactwu).
However, the report notes some of these Taiwanese-owned textile factories had relocated to Lesotho.
And the Lesotho country report indicates that despite trade unions being allowed in the private sector –rights are frequently being violated — especially in the garment sector and by foreign-owned businesses.
”Foreign employers in the industrial zones — mainly textile groups from South Africa, Hong Kong and Taiwan — pay wages below the statutory minimum. Refuse to pay sickness benefits and unilaterally make deductions from wages,” states the report.
But Botswana this year is set to lift several restrictions on trade union activities, like the ministerial power to investigate membership and the loss of membership when leaving employment; limitations on strikes in essential services and the pre-requisite registration of trade unions remain.
The situation in Swaziland remains bleak: the state of emergency introduced in 1973 remains in place and ”the regime remained fiercely anti-union”.
The country report outlined how the Swaziland government’s representative to the International Labour Organisation, threatened the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) leader Jan Sithole, who is seen as ”a hate figure” and subject of smear campaigns by authorities.
Anti-union sentiments in Zambia, led by ex-trade union leader Frederick Chiluba for ten years, were prevalent throughout 2002. The pre-requisites for a strike are so stringent no legal strike was held since 1994.
Here again foreign-owned businesses flout local laws: a hotel chain refused to pass on the 10% service charge as required and then disciplined workers who had complained. New workers in some multinationals have to sign a statement relinquishing their right to join a union.
Despite Malawian president Chakufwa Chihana being a former trade union leader, the annual survey points to a deteriorating labour rights situation.
”Although trade union rights are recognised in law, they have been increasingly ignored recently in practice. Some employers and the government, as a public sector employer, have strongly resisted union activity,” the report adds.
District education officers have been sacked for belonging to a union; the National Bank of Malawi unilaterally abrogated an agreement with the sector’s union while companies in export processing zones frequently deny unions access to workers there.
In October 2002 the general secretary of the Malawi Congress of Trade Unions, Francis Antonio, was arrested on trumped up charges of misappropriating money earmarked for a child labour seminar. This came shortly after he publicly committed the trade union movement to fight constitutional changes to allow a third presidential term.