Unresolved problems with the Right to Organise and other Fundamental Rights

This report from the International Trade Union Confederation reads like a summary of conditions in a third world right wing dictatorship.  Unfortunately, it accurately describes labor conditions in the USA.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION

ITUC OnLine

131/290910

USA: unresolved problems with the right to organise and other fundamental rights

Brussels, 29 September 2010 (ITUC OnLine): The ITUC presents today its biannual report on core labour standards in the USA, coinciding with the Trade Policy Review of the USA at the WTO, taking place on 29 September and 1 October.  It reveals a poor record on workers’ protection, particularly with regard to trade union rights and child labour, areas in which serious violations continue to take place.

US law excludes large groups of workers from the right to organise.  These include agricultural workers, many public sector workers, domestic workers, supervisors and independent contractors. Moreover, for most private sector workers forming trade unions is extremely difficult and anti-union pressure from employers is frequent.  The report notes that there is a $4 billion union-busting industry which aims at undermining trade union organising.  Some 82 per cent of employers hire such companies that employ a wide range of anti-union tactics. Employers often force employees to listen to anti-union propaganda and threaten workers with company closures if they vote to form a trade union.

The report further notes that the Employee Free Choice Act, which would redress some of the imbalances workers are subject to, continues to be blocked by Senate Republicans despite passing the House of Representatives and gaining majority support in the Senate.

Child labour is in many cases not effectively addressed in the US, particularly in agriculture and not least because of the hazardous conditions that children are exposed to.  Many of the children are migrant farm workers, often Latino.  The AFL-CIO estimates that between 300,000 and 800,000 children are employed in agriculture under dangerous conditions.  Moreover, the number of child labour inspections has been falling.

Concerning discrimination the report notes that women continue to earn less than men (77.1%).  While women represent 47.8% of total employment, only 29.0% of executive and senior level officials and managers are women.  Furthermore women have no guarantee of paid family leave.

Finally, the report notes that forced labour remains a problem in the US, in particular with forced labour in agriculture for migrant workers.

To read the full report:  http://www.ituc-csi.org/report-for-the-wto-general-council,7686.html

The ITUC represents 176 million workers in 151 countries and territories and has 301 national affiliates. http://www.ituc-csi.org  yhttp://www.youtube.com/ITUCCSI     

For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on 32 2 224 02 04 or + 32 476 62 10 18       

INTERNATIONAL TRADE UNION CONFEDERATION (ITUC)

INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNISED CORE LABOUR STANDARDS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

REPORT FOR THE WTO GENERAL COUNCIL REVIEW OF THE

TRADE POLICIES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

(Geneva, 29 September and 1 October 2010)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The United States has ratified only two of the eight core ILO labour Conventions. In view of restrictions on the trade union rights of workers and child labour problems, determined measures are needed to comply with the commitments the US accepted at Singapore and Doha in the WTO Ministerial Declarations over 1996-2001, and in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work and its 2008 Social Justice Declaration.

           

The US has not ratified the ILO core Convention on the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining, nor the Convention on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise. Anti-union campaigns by employers are common and the legislation is insufficient as is its enforcement to protect the right of workers to organise. The right to strike and to collectively bargain are severely restricted, in particular for public sector workers and for certain groups of private sector workers.

The US has not ratified the core ILO Convention on Equal Remuneration nor the Convention on Discrimination. Discrimination in employment is prohibited by law but does occur in practice. There is still a wage gap between men and women and between different ethnic groups. Women and some ethnic minorities are also disproportionately represented in certain occupations.

The US has ratified the ILO core Convention on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, but not the Convention on Minimum Age. Child labour remains a problem in the US, in particular in agriculture where fewer regulations apply, where collective bargaining is exceptional, and where children continue to be exposed to hazardous working conditions.

            The US has ratified the Convention on the Abolition of Forced Labour but not the Convention on Forced Labour. Forced labour exists in the form of forced prostitution, bonded labour, and forced prison labour. There is also forced labour in agriculture as well as in garments in US territories.

Original document circulated by:
James Howard
Director
Economic and Social Policy
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
5, Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 1210 Brussels, Belgium
Tel. (direct) +322 2240333