Union Rights Violators Named

Date: 04 February 2004

Before Members of the European Parliament, representatives of the European Council and the European Commission as well as European diplomats, the world's largest trade union organisation gave a preliminary briefing ahead of the UN meeting, to be held from 15th March until 23rd April in Geneva.

The ICFTU raised cases of serious wrongs of trade union and human rights, citing over 15 countries which merit special attention, including cases ranging from the murder of trade union leaders (Cambodia) to dictatorial regimes infringing on trade union activities (Haiti).

The ICFTU used the opportunity to express serious concerns over increasing attacks on Burmese migrant workers living in Thailand. It stressed that Burmese workers who escaped slavery (forced labour) in their home country were then confronted with severe discrimination in Thailand.

In a written statement presented to the EP meeting, the ICFTU said 11 Burmese workers had drowned as a result of police violence when the pineapple jam factory where they worked as migrants, in Kanchanaburi province, was raided by police on 19 January.

They died when police pursued them and beat them up in a river into which they had jumped in order to escape arrest. In addition to those killed, 60 workers were arrested.

Alongside to the exploitation of migrant labour, the ICFTU stressed a series of other issues including child labour before the UN Commission on Human Rights, for example the increasing use of child soldiers in various conflict areas.

Focussing on the numerous violations against the rights of working women, particularly migrant working women and domestic workers, the ICFTU also pointed to the situation in Export Processing Zones, where women in particular are exposed to economic exploitation, threats, violence and other forms of physical and psychological abuse.

Trade union rights are notoriously violated in EPZs in countries such as Guatemala, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic, as well as in Moldova and Ukraine, and Bangladesh.

As in previous years, the ICFTU will also expose heavy prison sentences inflicted on independent labour activists in China, massive arrests of unionists in South Korea, persistent, large-scale forced labour in Burma and ongoing interference in trade union affairs by the governments of Djibouti and Cameroon.

Belarus is also under the spotlight and this year President Lukashenko's government will face the double scrutiny of a European Commission investigation and of an ILO Commission of Inquiry for massive violations of trade union rights.

January 2004 alone has been a terrible month for anti-trade union violence.

Amongst the very worst cases are:

- Colombia: the assassination of a public servants' union leader in Cali.
- Cambodia: the assassination of Chea Vichea, a prominent trade union leader where the government's investigation into his murder has already been marred by manipulation and procedural flaws, including the alleged torture of his alleged murderer.
- Haiti: where repression of the civilian population is spiralling out of control and in line with this, 11 trade unionists were arrested over the last 2 weeks.
- The Dominican Republic: at least 7 workers were killed in demonstrations last week.
- Iran: the country has admitted that its security forces killed four striking workers and injured dozens more in the city of Shahr-Babak in Kehrman Province. The ICFTU will be presenting information before the ILO on Iran for its violations of international standards on trade union rights.
- Zimbabwe: several cases of brutal murder, torture, rape, imprisonment and dismissal of hundreds of trade unionists occurred in 2003. The ICFTU is currently finalising a formal complaint against Zimbabwe to the United Nations' International Labour Organisation (ILO) on the victimisation of union leaders.
- Colombia: an overall drop in the assassinations of trade unionists but an increase in other forms of repression such as arbitrary detentions, death threats, forced displacements and other violations.

The ICFTU also took the opportunity to express "strong reservations" about President Uribe being invited to address the European Parliament next week in Strasbourg.

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