>From: "mart" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Date: September 15, 2000 10:25 PM >Subject: Fwd: [gangbox] Fwd : 140 UNION MEMBERS KILLED BY ANTI UNION >REPRESSION WORLDWIDE LAST YEAR > > >from WORKINGFAMILIES.COM : > Anti-Union Repression Persists Worldwide, Says Report > > Sep 14 2000 9:39 AM EST > > GENEVA, (Sep. 13) IPS - Anti-union repression in 1999 cost the >lives of 140 women and men around the world, charges the International >Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) in its >annual report on the global problem of labor rights violations. > > The trade unionists "were assassinated, disappeared, or committed >suicide after they were threatened, because they had the temerity to >stand up for workers' rights against the state or unscrupulous employers," > says the document. > > The victims numbered fewer than in 1998, when 157 people died >due to their union activities, but the Brussels-based ICFTU stresses >that the anti-union climate is intensifying and workers' rights continue >to erode as the years pass. > >The global organization considers it "paradoxical" that international > agreements on union rights are ratified by more and more countries, >but are respected less. > > In the 113 countries studied for the report, some 3,000 workers were >arrested, more than 1,500 were injured, beaten or tortured, and at least > 5,800 suffered harassment due to their legitimate union activities in >1999. > > Bill Jordan, the British secretary-general of the ICFTU, said the report >reveals the "prevailing hypocrisy which sees government officials parading > at international gatherings, ostensibly promoting basic workers' rights, >while those who actually defend those fundamental rights at home are being > harassed, attacked, threatened, sidelined or silenced -sometimes forever." > >The international union leader denounced "the ruthless repression in Latin > America, attacks and interference in Asia, arrests and imprisonment in > Africa, severe restrictions and non- payment of wages in Eastern Europe >and a growing trend of 'union- busting' activities in industrialized >countries." > >According to the ICFTU report, Latin America continues to be the most >dangerous region for unionists. In 1999, it was once again the stage for >anti-labor violence, worker exploitation -- especially in the banana > industry and maquiladoras (export processing zones) -- and the negative > impacts of globalization and structural adjustments. > > In Latin America, increasing numbers of trade unionists are murdered with >each passing year. The victim total for 1999 reached 90, twice the number >of similar deaths on any other continent. > > Last year, at least three union leaders were assassinated in Guatemala, > police shot a teachers' union leader to death in the Dominican Republic on > the eve of a general strike, and the murder of rural unionists in Brazil >continued. > >The Nicaraguan police force and army violently suppressed striking >transportation workers, leaving two dead and hundreds injured. > >But the gloomiest picture is found in Colombia, where 69 unionists were >assassinated -- a few less than in 1998, but a chilling situation >nonetheless, comments the ICFTU. > > Massive protests in various provinces of Argentina to demand payment of >back-wages met with brutal police repression, claiming five lives and >leaving 25 people injured. > >The United States, meanwhile, saw approximately 40 percent of public >sector >employees denied the right to collective bargaining last year, as well as > reports of cases of extreme exploitation. > > Nearly 80 percent of all unionist arrests last year worldwide took place >on the African continent, which was also home to the same portion of all >prison sentences handed down against trade union activities. > > The ICTFU stresses in its report that government-imposed structural > adjustments led to privatizations across Africa, and that cuts in public > spending drove up unemployment and non-payment of wages -- leading to a > burgeoning informal economic sector in which workers lack basic >protections. > > Additionally, the average African holds out hope that the growing clamor >to cancel the foreign debt of the poorest nations will produce tangible >results. > > A ban on independent trade unions in Equatorial Guinea, Sudan and Libya > remained in place through 1999. In the Central African Republic, >meanwhile, the government "continued to target the USTC union central, and >its leader, Theophile Sonny-Cole, was beaten up and prevented from attending > international conferences." > > In the Asia-Pacific region, at least 37 trade unionists died last year due > to strike-related incidents. > > In Bangladesh, Pakistan and other countries, workers do not enjoy union > rights in the export processing zones, while countries such as Fiji, India, >Sri Lanka and Thailand unions are not allowed to operate in the zones. > > Strikes and demonstrations in the region were savagely repressed last >year,and in 19 of the 25 countries evaluated, anti- union legislation > predominates, according to the ICFTU. > >China represses any attempt to create independent unions and imprisons >labor leaders. Hundreds of Chinese workers were injured during >confrontations >with the police as they protested factory closings that meant layoffs for >millions of people, says the report. > > Unions are practically non-existent in the Middle East, where legal >barriers prevent workers from organizing or staging strikes. > > In Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, >foreign workers make up at least two-thirds of the labor force, but they >have almostno rights, nor are they covered by existing collective >agreements, >says the ICFTU. > > In Europe, seven people died last year as the result of their trade union > activities, and two others committed suicide to call the government's >attention to labor problems. > > Four trade unionists were assassinated in Russia in 1999, and the > authorities there ignored striking workers' demands for payment of > back-wages owed. > > The ICFTU is relating its latest report to the campaign >underway to promote linking respect for basic labor standards >with international trade agreements. > > > Copyright (c) IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. > ? 1998-2000. iBelong.com, Inc. All rights reserved. >**************************************************************************** > GANGBOX: CONSTRUCTION WORKERS NEWS SERVICE >GANGBOX homepage: > http://www.GeoCities.com/gangbox/ > comments? email: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > "UNION NOW, UNION FOREVER" >**************************************** > > >Knowledge is Power! >Elimination of the exploitation of man by man >http://www.egroups.com/group/pttp/ >POWER TO THE PEOPLE! > >Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Change Delivery Options: >http://www.egroups.com/mygroups > > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi _______________________________________________________ Kominform list for general information. 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