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| Issue No 71 |  |
15 September 2000 |
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NewsViolence Rife Against Union Activists
At least 140 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, according to a survey published this week.
The annual survey by the Brussels-based International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) details violations of trade union rights in 113 countries during 1999. It says that nearly 3000 people were arrested, more then 1,500 were injured, beaten or tortured and at least 5,800 were harassed because of their legitimate trade union activities. Another 700 trade unionists received death threats. 'This year's report gives an opportunity to denounce 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 for ever,' said Bill Jordan, general secretary of the ICFTU. Abuses compiled in the survey range from murder to subtle legislative arrangements that make trade union activities increasingly look like a daunting obstacle race. Some 12,000 workers were unfairly dismissed or refused reinstatement, sometimes with the complicity of the government, because they were active members of a trade union. At least 140 strikes or demonstrations were repressed by governments, sometimes with the support of the employers using strike breakers, while 80 of the 113 countries mentioned in the survey restrict the right to strike altogether. 'Ruthless repression in Latin America, attacks and interference in Asia, arrests and imprisonment in Africa, severe restrictions and non-payment of wage in Eastern Europe and a growing trend to 'union busting' activities in industrialised countries are key findings of this year's report, according to Bill Jordan. The Latin American continent remains the most dangerous place in the world for trade unionists. 90 trade unionists lost their lives, twice as many as any other continent, and about 70% of those arrested world-wide for carrying out trade union activities were from Latin America. Forming a trade union within an enterprise is virtually impossible in many Latin American countries.
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   Interview: Surviving The FirestormAfter several years as the focus of some brutal politics Carmen Lawrence is back on the ALP front bench. She talks to Workers Online about her new portfolio, unions and the ALP and mud slinging in politics. History: Unions, Sport and CommunityRemember when sport was a fun way to relax after arduous labour? The fight for the eight-hour work day was based around a slogan that said, in part, eight hours work, eight hours play. The play was unpaid and unsung, but enjoyable. Politics: Global FailuresSharan Burrow told the World Economic Forum this week that the union movement acknowledges the benefits of globalisation but it's time to address the failures. International: Mobile WorkersA global IT labour shortage is throwing up challenges for both the developed and developing world. Gerd Rohde, from the Geneva-based Union Network International, is working to strike a balance. Unions: Stuffed or Stoned?In a recent dispute at the South Blackwater Coal Mine in Central Queensland CFMEU members resisted the introduction of random drug testing in the absence of a better strategy to test impairment and not just lifestyle. Review: A Perfect Circle- Mer de NomsPeter Zangari believes the music world has moved on from the simplistic chords of Nirvana and Soundgarden and the grunge scene has been obliterated. But like most other things, especially music, it re-invents itself. Satire: Silly 2000Editors demand something happen: ‘We’ve got 300 Olympic pages to fill and everyone is training’.
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