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Incredible Bravery, Relentless Oppression: 2010 ITUC Annual Survey of Workers Rights

June 16, 2010

Summing up the report ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder said “This year’s ITUC survey shows that the majority of the world’s workers still lack effective protection of their rights to organise trade unions and bargain collectively. This is a major factor in the long-term increase in economic inequality within and between countries. Inadequate incomes for much of the world’s workforce helped cause the global economic crisis, and is making it much harder to put the economy on a path of sustainable growth.”

The Dark Side of Chocolate: Child Labor and Trafficking in the International Chocolate Industry

June 9, 2010

Later, the crew visited Ali Lakiss, CEO of Saf-Cacao, Ivory Coast’s largest domestically owned cocoa exporter. It was bitterly ironic to see how Mr. Lakiss so confidently claimed of there being no slavery or trafficking in the Ivory Coast’s cocoa plantations as undercover footage was shown of a group of young boys cutting down cocoa pods with machetes in a nearby plantation. Like many children forced into labor, these kids did not attend school, could not speak the local language and admitted to being beaten by the plantation owners if not working hard enough. Even more disturbing was how such children are seen as profitable purchases; where for a mere 230 pounds, plantation owners could cover the cost for transport of a child and inherit an indefinite time of labor.

Protest Against Peruvian President, Alan Garcia, at the White House: A Rally for the Protection of the Indigenous People of Peru

June 4, 2010

The Bagua Massacre took place on June 5, 2009 when Peruvian police used force against indigenous civilians in the town of Bagua as they protested against the FTA’s implementation of decrees that allowed private corporations to access indigenous lands without consultation. The violent conflict between police and the indigenous led to more than 100 wounded, and 30-84 deaths. The death toll has been highly contested by both the Peruvian government, estimating on the low side, and indigenous groups, stating that corpses were being carried away during the conflict and later social upheaval.

Prominent Human Rights Activist Being Held at Thai Military Base After Peaceful Demonstration

June 3, 2010

Suthachai and Somyot were detained for interrogation purposes pertaining to the political protests associated with the Red Shirts. The Red Shirt group is the main opposition to the government in Thailand. Somyot and Suthachai have no recent activity as part of the core leadership of the Red Shirts. Their participation in the demonstrations was strictly on a journalistic and academic level. After their initial arrest, they were brought to Adisorn Army Base in Saraburi, which is approximately 115 km north of Bangkok, and placed in solitary confinement. On Friday May 28th, the Criminal Court in conjunction with the Centre for Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) had extended the detention of Somyot and Suthachai until June 6th- seven days beyond the originally set date.

Labor Flexibility Violates Labor Rights in Central America

June 2, 2010

Second, the Campaign’s report stressed how labor flexibility affects the right to job security. Firing masses of workers citing “economic reasons”, replacing staff frequently so as to prevent anyone from reaching seniority, and shutting down a factory and re-opening it under a different name are just a few of the strategies that companies partake in the effort to evade paying workers their due compensation at the time of dismissal. These violations threaten the principle of continuity in the workplace that provides not only job security but also economic, social and psychological stability as well. Without job security, workers hesitate to fight for their rights out of fear of losing their job, thus forcing them to put up with labor rights violations on a daily basis.

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