Bangladesh is once again ranked among the 10 worst countries in the world where labor rights are not guaranteed, according to a global survey. Other worst countries are Algeria, Cambodia, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.
The shrinking democratic space for working people and unchecked corporate greed are on the rise. The number of countries with arbitrary arrests and detention of workers increased from 44 in 2017 to 59 in 2018, said the survey revealed on June 06.Freedom of speech was also constrained in 54 countries.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) in its 2018 Global Rights Index ranked Bangladesh with 34 other nations in the fifth category. The fifth category is a sign of "no guarantee of rights". "The countries with the rating of 5.0 are the worst places in the world to work in," the report said.
"While the legislation may spell out certain rights, workers have effectively no access to these rights and are, therefore, exposed to autocratic regimes and unfair labor practices," it added.
The ITUC ranks 142 nations in 1-5 categories against 97 global indicators. It showed how they were protecting rights like freedom of association, collective bargaining and the right to strike. The ITUC has been collecting data on the abuse of trade union rights globally for over the past 30 years.
The index presented verified information from the past 12 months so that every government and business can see how their laws and supply chains worsened or improved. According to the key findings of the ITUC, 54 out of 142 countries deny or constrain free speech and freedom of assembly.
The number of countries where workers are exposed to violence and threats rose by 10 per cent (from 59 to 65).
They included Bahrain, Honduras, Italy and Pakistan.
Unionists were murdered in nine countries, including Brazil, China, Colombia, Guatemala, Guinea, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria and Tanzania. The ITUC survey found 65 countries that excluded workers from labor laws.
Also, 87 per cent of countries denied the right to strike and 81 per cent limited or full collective bargaining rights. Ten countries, including Burundi, Palestine and Syria, scored even worse at 5+.
---AP
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