MANILA – You think you had it bad, think again. Yes, the Philippines is among the worst places to work in the world but there are far worse places to be in right now, according to the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
In the ITUC Global Rights Index, the countries that garnered a rating of 5+ are: Central African Republic, Libya, Palestine, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Ukraine.
The rating of 5+ meant that there is no guarantee of rights due to the breakdown of the rule of law. Workers in these countries equally have limited rights as workers in countries with rating of 5. Countries with 5+ ratings, have dysfunctional institutions as a result of internal conflict and/or military occuptation.
But then, small comfort since the Philippines is not considered, so far, a country suffering from a complete breakdown of rule of law.
Aside from the Philippines, the countries that had a rating of 5, or the worst places to work in, are:
These countries, the ITUC said, are the worst places for workers. Why? “While the legislation may spell out certain rights, workers have effectively no access to these rights and are thefore exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labor practices.”
On the other side of the spectrum are the countries that have garnered a rating of 1, where there is irregular violation of rights. The collective labor rights are generally guaranteed. Workers can freely associate and defend their rights collectively with the government and/or companies and can improve their working conditions through collective bargaining. Violations against workers are not absent but do not occur on a regular basis.
What are these countries?
“Countries such as Denmark and Uruguay led the war through their strong labor laws, but perhaps surprisingly, the likes of Greece, the United States, and Hong Kong lagged behind,” said ITUC general secretary Sharan Burrow.
“A country’s level of development proved to be a poor indicator of whether it respected basic rights to bargain collectively, strike for decent conditions, or simply join a union at all,” Burrow added.
ITUC has been collecting data on the abuse of trade union rights worldwide for the past 30 years. This is the first time the ITUC Global Rights Index presented a “carefully verified information” from the last 12 months in an easy-to-use format that government and businesses can see how their laws and supply chains stack up.
Qualitative information was coded against 97 indicators which were derived from International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions and jurisprudence and were grouped into five categories: fundamental civil liberties; the right to establish or join unions; trade union activities; the right to collective bargaining; and the right to strike.
ITUC found that in the past year, governments of at least 35 countries have arrested or imprisoned workers as a tactic to resist demands for democratic rights, decent wages, safer working conditions and secure jobs.
In at least 9 countries, murder and disappearance of workers were usually used to intimidate workers.
Workers in at least 53 countries have been dismissed or suspended for attempting to negotiate better working conditions.
Laws and practices in at least 87 countries exclude certain types of workers from the right to strike.
“The World Bank’s recent Doing Business report naively subscribed to the view that reducing labor standards is something governments should aspire to. This new Rights Index puts governments and employers on notice that unions around the world will stand together in solidarity to ensure basic rights at work,” Burrow said. –Likha Cuevas-Miel, InterAksyon.com
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