An annual review of workers’ rights worldwide has seen the UK drop down the global rankings for the first time in a decade.
The annual Global Rights Index, published by the International Trade Union Confederation, rated the UK on a scale of one to five as a 4, meaning “systematic violation of rights”. It had previously been rated 3 and now joins three other European countries – Greece, Hungary and Romania – on this rating, together with the US.
In Europe, only Turkey and Belarus had a worse rating, 5, meaning “no guarantee of rights”.
For the UK, “union busting, attempts to introduce legislation curtailing the right to strike and protest, and violations of collective bargaining agreements have become systematic” according to the ITUC.
The authors of the Global Rights Index said the Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill is being “rushed through Parliament” and is “another attack on the fundamental right to strike for workers in the UK, which already lacks constitutional safeguards and takes place in a draconian legislative environment for trade unions”.
Another “repressive law” highlighted was the change last summer to allow agency workers to break strikes, a practice which was previously illegal. Unions challenged the repeal of the agency workers ban in the High Court last month, with a judgment expected soon.
The authors also criticised “extensive new powers” afforded to the Certification Officer in April 2022, which regulates trade union affairs in the UK.
“These included the ability to initiate investigations without a trade unionist making a complaint, the right to demand documents, to appoint outside investigators, and to impose financial penalties on unions for breaches of statute. This gives the state considerably more influence over internal trade union affairs,” said the ITUC.
ITUC acting general secretary Luc Triangle said: “The 2023 ITUC Global Rights Index provides shocking evidence that the foundations of democracy are under attack. There is a clear link between workers’ rights being upheld and the strength of any democracy. The erosion of one amounts to the degradation of the other.
“This is the 10th edition of the Index and the 2023 results demonstrate how necessary it is. Across both high-income and low-income countries, as working people have faced a historic cost-of-living crisis and spiralling inflation driven by corporate greed, governments have cracked down on the right to collectively negotiate wage rises and take strike action.”
Tonia Nowitz, professor of labour law at the University of Bristol, said: “It is alarming that the 2023 ITUC Global Rights Index shows that violations of workers’ rights have become systematic here in the UK.
Strikes and industrial action
“There has been a dangerous decline in the UK’s international ranking and reputation. If ministers press on with the Strikes Bill, the UK’s global standing as a country that respects fundamental rights and freedoms is at real risk.”
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “The right to strike is a fundamental freedom, but the Conservative government seems hellbent on undermining it.
“The UK already has some of the most restrictive trade union laws in Europe. This draconian anti-strike Bill will drag us further away from mainstream norms and make the UK an international outlier.”
In the report, Royal Mail was singled out for its refusal “to meaningfully negotiate on pay or conditions in a dispute that has so far lasted over six months, with no end in sight. Instead, Royal Mail engaged in an internal reorganisation of the company and imposed a unilateral 2% pay rise on postal workers, alongside cuts to conditions.”
The Communication Workers Union revealed in April 2023 that it had come to a potential agreement with Royal Mail Group that would include no compulsory redundancies until 2025, a 10% increase in base pay over three years, a £500 lump sum and a new profit sharing scheme, but it has since suspended a vote on the agreement accusing management of trying to reach an agreement in a “toxic” manner.
The report found that 87% of countries violated the right to strike. Working people in Canada, Togo, Iran, Cambodia, Belgium and Spain faced criminal prosecution and dismissals following their decision to strike. In South Korea, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering filed a $35.3 million damage claim suit against union leaders for alleged financial losses incurred due to strike action.
The ITUC found that the right to free speech and assembly was restricted in 42% of countries, with protesters facing police brutality. In France, workers’ unions held mass demonstrations against the decision to raise the national retirement age. Their lawful protests have been met with beatings, indiscriminate arrests and tear gas attacks by police and security forces.
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