Freedom Of Association Rights Research Articles

Discrimination during COVID-19: Assessing migrant workers’ vulnerability to forced labor in Thailand’s seafood industry

Between 2020 and 2022, Thailand instituted a series of policies to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many of the regulations were rooted in structural discrimination against the migrant population. This paper reveals how the discriminatory nature of the government’s policies heightened the vulnerability of migrant workers in Thailand’s commercial fishing and seafood processing industries. COVID-19 containment measures and immigration policies, coupled with the exclusion of migrant workers from social protection programs, inadvertently subjected migrant workers in Thailand’s seafood industry to increased risk of forced labor. At the same time, further restrictions on freedom of association rights and the weakening of labor inspections during the pandemic hampered workers’ ability to report labor abuses and the government’s ability to identify and remedy cases of forced labor.

POSITION AND PROTECTION OF ASSOCIATION RIGHTS SECURITY UNIT IN HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE ACCORDING TO THE BASIC STATE LAW OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA YEAR 1945

The rights and obligations in the world of labor have been regulated in the labor law, including the right of association which must be given to every worker to associate as stated in Law Number 21 of 2000 concerning Trade Unions / Labor Unions Article 28 and Article 43. In addition, problems arise when the Indonesian National Police Headquarters on behalf of the Indonesian National Police Chief through the Head of the Security Maintenance Agency issues Circular Letter Number; B/194/I/201/Baharkam concerning: Security Guards are Not Members of Trade Unions. In Article 5 of the Circular, it is stated that "in this regard, the security guard is not a member of a trade union and is not allowed to become a member of a trade union organization". Related to this, the writer will discuss about the position of the Security Unit in the perspective of human rights according to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia and how the protection of the right of association for the security unit in the perspective of human rights according to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia. The writing method that the author uses in writing this article is empirical normative, comparing a rule with the situation in the field related to the prohibition for the security unit to associate. The results of the research in this paper are that the regulation of freedom of association rights has two main objectives to be achieved, firstly human rights must be protected as basic rights, secondly there must be guarantees that the rights and freedoms of others can be carried out properly and a form of legal protection against workers in this case the security unit is an effort to fulfill human rights, where one of the important aspects of the application of a rule of law is law enforcement. A new legal instrument is said to be effective if the law can be implemented with sanctions and can be enforced if the law violates it.Keywords: Security Unit, Freedom of Association, Legal Protection

The contradiction of international trends in freedom of association

ABSTRACT There is a contradiction in international patterns: freedom of association seems, if anything, to have been enhanced, yet union rights appear to have been under increasing threat. The existence of full freedom of association rights is normal in developed countries. The imposition of major restrictions on freedom of association is typically associated with military coups, juntas, martial law or dictatorships. As countries become more economically developed and more democratic, rights to freedom of association are generally enhanced if they are not already ubiquitous. Yet union rights and union density are in decline. This pattern seems to be part of the contradiction of the move to greater marketisation, relating to a separation of industrial relations issues from human rights.

Editorial: towards universal ratification for freedom of association rights?

2 | International Union Rights | 26/3 EDITORIAL Editorial: towards universal ratification for freedom of association rights? Continuing the thematic focus of IUR 26(2) on the ILO in its Centenary year, this edition looks in particular at the state of what ICTUR regards as the ILO’s most fundamental instruments, the Conventions on Freedom of Association (No. 87) and Collective Bargaining (No. 98). These particular instruments are so crucial from a trade union rights perspective because they provide the fundamental protection in international law for trade unions to exist, to function, and to carry out their activities. To give a very basic sense of these instruments, Convention No. 87 is concerned with the existence of unions, their founding, and free functioning. It protects their right to take action, and the civil liberties of trade unionists. Convention No. 98 outlines an obligation to promote collective bargaining, and it requires that trade unionists have protection against acts of interference. The two instruments together provide the foundations for trade unions to operate. As such they are critical, even within the framework of the ILO’s ‘fundamental’ or ‘core’ labour standards. Conventions Nos. 87 and 98 are understood as ‘enabling’ rights (see ILO 2019 Declaration, Chapter II, A (vi)). The idea behind this is that where collective organisation and action are protected this provides an effective basis from which workers can agitate for, and hopefully win, respect for other rights. Most countries have ratified both of them. What is problematic is that a core group of countries are still holding out against ratification of either instrument. And it is extraordinary that prominent among these are a very significant section of the founder members of the ILO: China, Brazil, India, Iran, and New Zealand. The US was not a founding member, but it has also not ratified either convention. Of the ILO founders group, Nick Henry recalls that New Zealanders played a key role in drafting Convention No. 87, but the government of 1948 ‘chose to ignore the advice of their own delegation’. Varied strands of authoritarianism have been similarly hesitant to embace freedom of association, but some are changing. Anita Chan reports on the disparity between the situation in Vietnam, which has just ratified Convention No. 98 (and is tabled to ratify Convention No. 87 ‘by 2023’) and in China, the two countries, Chan tells us, are ‘on different trajectories’: ‘Vietnam is opening up politically while China is becoming increasingly suppressive’. Growing political authoritarianism is also the subject of our report from Brazil, where Ericson Crivelli describes further threats to trade union rights. While Jamshid Ahmadi told a recent ICTUR meeting that ratification remains just ‘a dream’ for Iranian workers,. Ratification by India is still discussed in committees, reports Sindhu Menon, but the unions have little faith in that process, which one union leader describes as ‘eye-wash’ and ‘farce’. But there are also success stories. Canada, Mexico, and Vietnam all recently ratified Convention No. 98, and we await news from South Korea, where Mikyung Ryu reports on the problems that have stalled ratification, but which is still expected, and may be imminent. And David Bacon outlines an optimistic assessement of the potential for labour reform under new laws passed in Mexico, following that country’s ratification of Convention 98 in 2018. The new government, is ‘undoing 36 years of neoliberal economic reforms’. Finally, Sudan remains one of the few key countries in Africa not to have ratified Convention No. 87. We hear from three Sudanese colleagues and gain their insight into the unfolding revolution. Daniel Blackburn, Editor Next issue of IUR Articles between 850 and 1800 words should be sent by email (mail@ictur.org) and accompanied by a photograph and short biographical note of the author. Please send by 15 November 2019 if they are to be considered for publication in the next issue of IUR. Subscribe to IUR / Affiliate to ICTUR Subscriptions: Print only £25 (individual rate), Print and electronic £75 (individual or institutional), Electronic only £55 (individual or institutional). Affiliations: (includes print and electronic access, and more, see www.ictur.org) Individual £50, Branch / local union £75 (includes 3 subscriptions), National (contact ICTUR for details). Name/Organisation Address Email Payment...

Editorial: towards universal ratification for freedom of association rights?

Editorial: towards universal ratification for freedom of association rights?

Monitoring Workers’ Rights: The Limits of Voluntary Social Compliance Initiatives in Labor Repressive Regimes

AbstractSince the early 1990s, a range of corporate monitoring and multi‐stakeholder initiatives have sought to address the violation of workers’ rights by monitoring suppliers in global supply chain and attempting to remediate violations. However, their effectiveness in the area of freedom of association rights has been limited, particularly in labor‐repressive regimes. This is because these initiatives have pursued inadequate strategies and lack either traditional forms of state power, notably the ability to sanction violators, or the leverage provided by activist campaigns. Recent social compliance program approaches, such as forming of worker‐management committees, are largely of limited effectiveness in regimes in which workers face employer or state controlled unions. And most production in light industry supply chains such as apparel takes place in labor repressive regimes.

Replaceable Workers, Unconscionable Employers, and a Deeply Disturbing State

In June 2017, the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Association and Freedom of Assembly, Maina Kiai released the final report on his 2016 visit to the US. His findings paint a bleak picture of union rights in the US – in ‘stark contrast’ to the ‘positive role’ that the US plays internationally in championing workers’ freedom of association rights. At the end of his mandate as Special Rapporteur, Kiai took the opportunity to comment on the intolerance demonstrated by the new Trump administration in its international relations, noting with concern that the administration has ‘talked of taking a radically different approach on all fronts: its engagement with the United Nations, its promotion of human rights abroad, and even its attitude towards fundamental rights domestically’. The Special Rapporteur points to ‘signals coming from the current administration’ – including xenophobia, disregard for peaceful protest, endorsement of torture – as ‘deeply disturbing’. Stripped of their rights On the National Labour Relations Act (NLRA), Kiai notes that this legal framework ‘legalises practices that severely infringe workers’ rights to associate’. The coverage of the NLRA excludes a large class of workers, such as agricultural and domestic workers, and independent contractors, and ‘employers increasingly categorise workers under these groupings in order to prevent them from organising and to avoid the demands of improved working conditions’, leaving them with ‘no recourse under the NLRA for violation of their rights’. On the right to strike, the report highlights the NLRA’s prohibition on ‘secondary boycotts… preventing workers from soliciting and expressing solidarity for strikes among workers of different employers’ and the fact that ‘employers can permanently replace employees engaged in economic strikes (those strikes concerning higher wages, shorter hours, or better working conditions)’. Such replacement workers are able to ‘vote to decertify a union on strike’. The Special Rapporteur notes that ‘the permanent replacement of striking workers negates the right to strike, stripping employees of their strongest tool for pressing their demands…’. Kiai also highlights issues with the ‘independence and effectiveness’ of the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB); the agency’s funding is ‘authorised by Congress and is thus prone to partisan interests that can manifest as budget cuts or funding with policy riders, preventing the NLRB from pursuing a particular agenda’. Union Busting Under the NLRA, employers have the right to express ‘any views, argument, or opinion … without threat of reprisal or force or promise of benefit’. The Special Rapporteur raises concerns that in practice this section ‘facilitates pervasive employer interference with the ability of employees to form or join unions. For example, employers may hold “captive audience” meetings – which employees are obliged to attend – at which they can aggressively discourage union activity. Employers may also threaten employees’ right to strike by emphasising their ability to permanently replace striking workers and engage companies to help them undermine workers’ organising efforts (a $4 billion dollar ‘union-busting’ industry). Unions have no right to speak during the captive audience meetings, to distribute union literature in the workplace, to conduct meetings in the workplace without management being present, or to hold similar captive-audience meetings’. The Special Rapporteur draws particular attention to the case of the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi. The plant is ‘one of only three Nissan plants that are not unionised out of a total of 55 manufacturing facilities worldwide; all of these plants are in the US south’. In December 2016, Industriall and the United Auto Workers (UAW) submitted simultaneous complaints to three OECD National Contact Points (NCP) alleging ‘aggressive policies and practices of union avoidance, harassment and intimidation, at the Canton plant . The complaints to the NCPs in the Netherlands, Japan and France point to the ‘failure of French Renault S.A., Japanese Nissan Motor Co. and Dutch Renault-Nissan BV to undertake due diligence’ with regard to the situation at the plant. Mediation offered by the US NCP was rejected by Nissan North America in 2015. Nissan wrote to the Special Rapporteur in February 2017 to defend its position, and ‘emphasised that it followed domestic law and paid relatively high wages for the region’. In his report, Kiai notes that this response is ‘emblematic of multinational corporations’ duplicity on the issue of workers’ rights. The poor environment...

Report: Will new unions translate into new rights?

12 | International Union Rights | 23/3 REPORT | MYANMAR Will new unions translate into new rights? The past four years have seen the birth of a new union movement in Myanmar, after 60 years of brutal suppression of labour rights. More than 2000 labour organisations (unions) have been registered under the Labour Organisation Law (LOL), mostly small unions at enterprise level and concentrated in the agricultural, freight handling and manufacturing sectors, and with an estimated total membership of more than 100,000 workers1. Given the history of oppression and the continuing hostility from many employers, this is a remarkable achievement, and reflects the determination of workers to exercise their new rights to associate, organise and negotiate. Many of them are young factory workers struggling to understand the law and their role, and to meet the expectations of their members in a very difficult environment. Despite the rather restrictive and inflexible provisions of the LOL a union movement is developing, with 115 township unions, 14 regional unions, 8 federations and one national confederation (the Confederation of Trade Unions of Myanmar, CTUM) having also been registered. The union movement is fragmented, and organised under three dominant federations: the CTUM, the Federation of Trade Unions of Myanmar (MTUF), and the Agricultural and Farmers Federation of Myanmar (AFFM). The main education and training regarding the LOL, and the freedom of association rights it introduced, has been undertaken by the International Labour Organisation’s Freedom of Association Project which was quickly developed in 2012 but which came to an end suddenly earlier this year. It was very appropriate that the ILO should lead this work given that it, led by the Workers Group within, developed the pressure on the Myanmar Government to legislate for these fundamental rights. The ILO project launched an awareness raising campaign with education and advice for workers, government officials, and employers, but the core of the programme were bi-partite training workshops for the leaders of the new unions and their employers. Building a new base for industrial relations The new leaders took their first real steps as a national movement when they came together at the Labour Organisation Leaders’ Forum in Yangon in April 2013. More than 363 registered labour organisations were represented, along with more than 100 related organisations, at this historic event which was the largest conference of elected worker representatives in more than 60 years. Although the conference was dominated by the debates and voting processes relating to the election of a Worker Delegate to the ILO, there was keen interest by the union leaders in the Forum workshops on organising skills, collective bargaining and workplace health and safety. Delegates voiced their frustration at the lack of recognition and respect from employers for their role as the voice, and negotiators for, the workers they represented. The ILO bi-partite workshops promoted a development model which builds constructive dialogue, including collective bargaining, at enterprise, industry and national level between the new unions, employers and (where appropriate) government. The model was founded on freedom of association and other labour rights and had a strong focus on building value, profitability and workers’ incomes as a common objective. It also promoted union participation in industry development programmes which are benchmarked to labour standards, skill development and skillbased pay systems. Employer resistance However, few employers have been willing to recognise that the legal and political environment was changing and there has been only limited business commitment to building such an industrial relations system. As at 31 July 2016 only 30 employer organisations have registered under the LOL and many employers have not only declined to recognise the workers’ rights but have been actively hostile to union organising activity. This has included widespread dismissal of workers for union organising and participation. The already slim prospect of building a sound industrial relations system has been further undermined by the contempt which many employers have shown for the authority of the Arbitration Council by refusing to comply with its orders reinstating workers who have been unlawfully dismissed. The disputes processes established under the counterpart Settlement of Labour Disputes Law have been widely used by workers but their credibility has been seriously damaged by the inability of...

Labour struggles for workplace justice: Migrant and immigrant worker organizing in Canada

This article explores the dynamics of labour organizing among migrant and immigrant workers in Canada, focusing on two case studies: first, recent efforts to organize migrant farmworkers in the Seasonal Agricultural Workers’ Program; and, second, the work of the Immigrant Workers’ Centre in Montreal. The Seasonal Agricultural Workers’ Program, which employs workers from Mexico and Caribbean countries, is often viewed by policymakers and employers as an example of ‘best practices’ in migration policy. Yet workers in the program experience seasonal employment characterized by long hours and low wages, and are exempt from many basic labour standards. The Immigrant Workers’ Centre formed in 2000 to provide a safe place for migrant and racialized immigrant workers to come together around problems in their workplaces. Through these case studies, we examine labour organization efforts including advocacy and grassroots organizing through the Immigrant Workers’ Centre and legal challenges attempting to secure recognition of freedom of association rights for farmworkers. The article explores the ‘limits and possibilities’ of these strategies, and concludes by assessing the implications for labour organizing among the growing numbers of migrant and immigrant workers employed in a wide range of low-wage, low-security occupations due to the recent expansion of Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Freedom of Association Rights

Corporations have increasingly turned to voluntary, multi-stakeholder governance programs to monitor workers’ rights and standards in global supply chains. This article argues that the emphasis of these programs varies significantly depending on stakeholder involvement and issue areas under examination. Corporate-influenced programs are more likely to emphasize detection of violations of minimal standards in the areas of wages, hours, and occupational safety and health because focusing on these issues provides corporations with legitimacy and reduces the risks of uncertainty created by activist campaigns. In contrast, these programs are less likely to emphasize workers’ rights to form democratic and independent unions, bargain, and strike because these rights are perceived as lessening managerial control without providing firms with significant reputational value. This argument is explored by coding 805 factory audits of the Fair Labor Association between 2002 and 2010, followed by case studies of Russell Athletic in Honduras, Apple in China, and worker rights monitoring in Vietnam.

Social Networks, Privacy, and Freedom of Association: Data Empowerment vs. Data Protection

This article examines the tension between social networks as enablers of political mobilization (sharing information is good) and as threats to privacy (sharing information is bad). A central theme is that social networks are platforms to create associations. Linguistically, “networks” and “associations” are close synonyms; they both depend on “links” and “relationships.” This article introduces the idea that limits on such networks can deeply implicate the freedom of association. Part I sets forth the facts of the tension between mobilization and association (Arab Spring, 2008 Obama campaign) and privacy (enforcement actions against social networks in Europe and the U.S.). Part II introduces the doctrinal structure in the U.S. for addressing the tension. If and when state action limits information sharing in social networks, individual users, political associations, and the networks themselves may have valid claims for violation of First Amendment freedom of association rights. Part III applies the proposed doctrine to three concrete examples of possible state action, including “privacy by design” and “do not track” proposals that have featured in recent privacy debates. Part IV moves beyond doctrine to examine more generally the tension between “data empowerment,” which relies on sharing of information, and “data protection,” which relies on limits to such sharing. As illustrated by our eagerness to use social networks, access to the personal data of others is often a benefit to individuals, rather than the threat assumed by the data protection approach. These benefits notably include our right to associate, to reach out to people to effect political change and realize ourselves as individuals. The old paradigm for debates about personal information was rights vs. utility; the discussion here shows that data empowerment increasingly makes the debate one of rights vs. rights.

All Work and No Pay: The Effects of Tourism on Workers' Rights

This article examines the effects of economic 'openness' on workers’ rights. More specifically, I examine the effects of tourism on workers rights’. I hypothesize that increases tourism will have negative effects on workers’ rights. I argue that tourism is a special form of globalization and should be measured along the same lines. Using the CIRI Human Rights database and the World Tourism Organization for the years 2005-2009, I test my theory. Based on the results, my hypothesis failed to be supported; tourism has a positive effect on workers’ rights and no significant effect on freedom of association rights.

Foreign Direct Investment, Regime Type, and Labor Protest in Developing Countries

We explore the relationship between FDI, regime type, and strikes in low- and middle-income countries. We argue that FDI produces social tensions and opportunities for protest that can result in higher levels of industrial conflict. However, the effect of FDI is moderated by regime type. While democracies tend to have higher levels of protest overall, they are better able than authoritarian regimes to cope with the strains arising from FDI. We cite two reasons. First, political competition forces regimes to incorporate workers, which shifts conflict from industrial relations to the political arena. Second, democracies provide workers with freedom of association rights, which facilitate institutionalized grievance resolution. We test the argument using a new dataset of labor protest in low- and middle-income countries for the period 1980–2005.

REKONSTRUKSI KONSEP KEBEBASAN HAK BERSERIKAT BAGI SERIKAT PEKERJA PADA HUBUNGAN INDUSTRIAL BERBASIS NILAI KEADILAN

The concept of freedom of association for trade union rights provided for in Law No. 21 of 2000 on Trade Unions, aimed at providing protection of workers, and improve the welfare of workers. But social facts to still many industrial dispute, and there were so many layoffs. Legal research methods to use social research. So in this perspective, freedom of association for trade union rights are not viewed from the norms of the country, but seen from the values of living in society, although freedom of association rights are influenced by state regulations. Construction of freedom of association for trade union rights as set out in Law No. 21 of 2000 on Trade Unions, still reflects the capitalistic character. The impact caused the number of industrial disputes and layoffs for workers, because employers view workers as a factor of production rather than as business partners. So the necessary reconstruction of freedom of association rights for workers with social justice based values to create a harmonious industrial relations. A reconstruction model using prismatic law, which took a good system of capitalistic model and the socialist model and the model adapted Pancasila industrial relations with the values of Indonesian.Keywords : Reconstruction, Freedom Right of Association, trade unions, justice

Paying for God’s Work: A Rights-Based Examination of Faith-Based NGOs in Romania

This paper examines issues of democratic accountability as they apply to faith-based organizations cooperating in international developmental efforts, with a specific focus on the freedom of expression rights of nonprofit organizations and the freedom of association rights of their clientele. Child welfare nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Romania are used as a case study for examining the issue. The paper begins with a discussion of NGO-government partnerships in service provision in international development, and examines the ethical concerns surrounding church-state separation as applied to nonprofits in the United States and in the context of foreign aid. The literature analysis is complimented by empirical evidence from the Romanian case, using data gathered in a qualitative study exploring the role of NGOs as social service providers and policy advocates. The paper concludes by discussing the particular role that bureaucratic discretion and power plays in protecting the freedom of association rights of clientele in Romania.

The Constitution and the Patronage-Merit Debate: Implications for Personnel Managers

This article examines the effect of recent Supreme Court rulings concerning the First Amendment freedom of association rights of public employees. The question is framed under the rubric of partisan patronage cases related to personnel selection, dismissal and other actions. The Rutan v. Republican Party of Illinois case is highlighted in analyzing the key findings of the majority and minority opinions. Public managers are alerted to the practical implications of these judicial decisions so that legal challenges can be met. It is suggested that precision and clarity of job analysis, assessment methods, validity of interviewing and training in relevant understanding of constitutional decisions be implemented.