OneWorld.net (U.S.)

WASHINGTON, Dec 2 (OneWorld.net) - Workers organizing for their rights in all parts of the world continue to face government repression and, in some countries, violent persecution and murder, states an annual report by an international alliance of trade unions. Colombia, Guinea, and the United States were among the countries singled out by the report.

• U.S. nurses protest in 2006 to protect their right to organize outside the offices of the American Hospital Association, a prime advocate of having National Labor Relations Board include nurses and other workers as "supervisors." © carlosjwj (flickr)In November 2007, thousands of workers across the United States protested the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which "has systematically dismantled decades of worker rights' protections, especially the freedom to form a union," according to the labor union confederation AFL-CIO. Established by the Bush administration, the "NLRB already has taken away the right of some 8 million workers such as nurses, building and construction trades workers, journalists, and others to form unions by expanding the definition of supervisor. That figure is in addition to the estimated 8.6 million workers already barred in recent years from joining unions because they have been excluded from labor law coverage," continues the AFL-CIO. In 2007 alone, the board made it more difficult for laborers to form unions but easier to abolish existing unions; made it easier for employers to avoid liability for breaking the law and weaken already ineffective remedies; and made it easier for employers to discriminate against union supporters and replace strikers, specifies the AFL-CIO.

• Despite a significant drop in the number of trade union members killed in Colombia -- from 70 in 2006 to 39 in 2007 -- Colombia remains one of the most dangerous countries in the world for trade union organizers and other human rights defenders, according to OneWorld UK. In 2006, only about 5 percent of Colombian workers were members of a trade union. To read more about human rights, conflict, and development in Colombia, visit OneWorld UK's Colombia country guide.

• U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has stated that he opposes the proposed U.S.-Colombia free trade agreement "because the violence against unions in Colombia would make a mockery of the very labor protections that we've insisted be included in these kind of agreements." Read Jim Lehrer's interview with then-presidential candidates Obama and John McCain at the Online NewsHour. Prior to the election, the Obama campaign also discussed their candidate's intention to reopen NAFTA negotiations to reflect environmental and labor issues, reported AFP.

91 Trade Unionists Murdered in 2007

From: AFL-CIO

by James Parks, Dec 1, 2008 

A total of 91 trade unionists were murdered for fighting for workers' rights worldwide in 2007, according to the International Trade Union Confederation's (ITUC's) Annual Survey of Violations of Trade Union Rights, released late last month.

Colombia, where 39 union members were killed in 2007, again tops the list of most dangerous countries to be a union member. While there was a slight reduction in killings in Colombia compared with the previous year, ITUC says many attempts to kill Colombian unionists failed, and there was a notable increase in forced removals, arbitrary arrests, illegal raids and threats, especially in agriculture, health and education.

In Guinea, 30 unionists were murdered. ITUC says the regime of President Lansana Conte was directly responsible for the killing of 30 unionists during the brutal repression of union-organized public demonstrations against corruption and violations of fundamental rights.

The survey also noted a disturbing increase in violence in Guatemala as trade unions were increasingly targeted, with four unionists murdered and a worsening climate of threats and harassment.

ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder says:

Repression of legitimate trade union activities...continued unabated in every continent. Murder, violence and torture, along with harassment, dismissal and imprisonment, were all used to stop working people organising unions and bargaining collectively for decent pay and working conditions. Several governments were only too ready to openly or covertly support unscrupulous employers who deny fundamental rights to their employees.

Governments have failed to do enough to protect workers' rights, either at home or in their international diplomatic, economic and trade relations.

The survey also singled out the United States and Australia among industrialized nations for restricting workers' freedom to form unions, citing court decisions in Australia and the Bush National Labor Relations Board rulings in this country.

Several disturbing trends emerged in the survey, which covers worker rights violations in 138 countries. Among those: collusion between some governments and employers to deprive workers of their legitimate rights to union membership and representation. Serious and systematic harassment and intimidation was reported in 63 countries.

Seventy-three unionists were sent to prison in 2007, including 40 in Iran, where systematic suppression of workers organizing in transportation and education continued. Fourteen unionists were jailed in Morocco and seven in Burma, where the junta targeted union activists as part of its brutal crackdown on any moves for democracy and human rights.

In Africa, employers in several countries used lax labor laws to encourage splits in trade unions and create employer-controlled groups to replace independent trade unions. Conditions were especially bad in Zimbabwe and Swaziland, which also appeared on a list of countries where Chinese-owned and -funded projects were cited for poor working conditions and exploitation of the workforce.

In the Middle East and Asia:

* Saudi employers beat four female Indonesian domestic workers so badly that two died, and police forcibly removed the other two from the hospital.
* Two trade unionists, one of whom was abducted and tortured, were killed due to their union activities in Iraq.
* Murders of trade unionists were once again reported in Cambodia and the Philippines.

OneWorld.net: Latest News, Groups Working on Labor Issues Worldwide