The International Trade Union Confederation presented its Global Index on labor rights compliance at the ILO Conference.
“In Ecuador, workers who try to form or join a union face death threats and dismissal,” according to the Global Rights Index 2024: The worst countries in the world for workers, from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
The ITUC presented its annual report on June 12, 2024, at the 112th session of the International Labor Conference of the International Labor Organization (ILO), held in Geneva. The Index ranks countries based on their compliance with collective labor rights, specifically the rights to freedom of association, collective bargaining and strike. The measurement is from 1 to 5, with 5 being the worst rating.
With a score of 5, Ecuador occupies position three in the ranking, among 151 countries surveyed. Only Bangladesh and Belarus were ahead of Ecuador as the worst countries for labor unionization. Also among the 10 worst countries are Egypt, Eswatini, Guatemala, Myanmar, the Philippines, Tunisia and Türkiye.
What does the report say about Ecuador?
The ITUC report points out that in Ecuador there is a “generalized and dangerous antisocial climate”, in which employers interfere “freely and with impunity in the formation of unions.” He cites the case of a palm oil processing company in which workers received death threats for trying to unionize.
Also, another public sector case in which 26 workers were fired when trying to establish a union. “In addition to the restrictive legal framework that governs unions, the authorities systematically reject, without any justification, applications for union registration,” says the ITUC Global Rights Index.
Panorama regional y global
The average score on the American continent was 3.56 points, being the “deadliest region for workers and union members”, with 16 murders recorded in 2023-2024. According to the report, almost 90% of the countries in the region violated the right to strike and prevented the registration of unions.
Globally, nearly nine in 10 countries also violated the right to strike, while around eight in 10 nations denied workers the right to collectively bargain for better working conditions.
In the report, the CSI expresses its concern about an increase in the arrest of trade unionists, which rose from 46% in the previous edition to 49% in the 2024 report. Meanwhile, the right to freedom of expression and assembly was restricted in 43% of countries.
By: PRIMICIAS