ITUC\u2019s Global Rights Index<\/a>, released this week, is an urgent wake-up call that democratic values and fundamental rights are collapsing at an international level.<\/p>\r\nThe report ranks 151 countries against a list of 97 indicators of respect for workers\u2019 rights derived from ILO Conventions and jurisprudence. This year\u2019s edition shows that governments and companies are ramping up efforts to trample the basic rights that underpin the very nature of democracy, such as the right to organize a trade union and collectively bargain.<\/p>\r\n
ITUC General Secretary Luc Triangle<\/strong> said: \u201cFor 11 years now the Index has tracked a rapid decline in workers\u2019 rights in every region of the world. Workers are the beating heart of democracy, and their right to be heard is crucial to the health and sustainability of democratic systems. When their rights are violated, democracy itself is attacked. Democracy, trade unions and workers\u2019 rights go together; you simply cannot have one without the other.\u201d<\/p>\r\nSome key findings include:<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\tThe right to free speech and assembly<\/strong> was restricted in 43 per cent of countries;<\/li>\r\n\t74 per cent of countries impeded the registration of trade unions;<\/strong><\/li>\r\n\tWorkers were detained or arrested<\/strong> in 74 countries;<\/li>\r\n\tThe right to strike<\/strong> was violated in 87 per cent of countries;<\/li>\r\n\tWorkers were denied the right to establish or join a trade union <\/strong>in 75 per cent of countries.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nChristy Hoffman, General Secretary of UNI Global Union, <\/strong>said:<\/p>\r\n\r\nThis new Global Rights Index shows we are not making progress when it comes to respect for workers’ rights, but rather the reverse is true. These rights are increasingly degraded and even abandoned altogether. Too many countries pay lip service to the right to organize but do nothing more to protect it.\u00a0The problems workers face range from union busting, which has\u00a0become normalized, to violence and even murder of trade unionists. It\u2019s a global disgrace, and it shows that voluntary corporate social responsibility programmes and good intentions don’t add up. We need global rules.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nRead the full Global Rights Index. <\/strong><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The ITUC\u2019s Global Rights Index is an urgent wake-up call that democratic values and fundamental rights are collapsing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":14232,"template":"","categories":[163],"global-issues":[33],"sectors":[],"cross-sector-groups":[],"workers-rights":[],"regions":[],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-14231","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-tag","global-issues-business-and-human-rights"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
ITUC Global Rights Index: Democratic values, workers\u2019 rights under attack<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n\t \n