Volume 9, No.4 - October 2000
United and Strong
International
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 by the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).
The survey details violations of trade union rights in 113 countries in 1999. Nearly 3000 people were arrested, more than 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 an increasingly daunting obstacle race.
Some 12,000 workers were unfairly dismissed or refused reinstatement, sometimes with the complicity of the government, because they were active union members. At least 140 strikes or demonstrations were repressed by governments, sometimes with the support of 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 findings, according to Bill Jordan.
Africa
Trade union repression is rife in Africa. Nearly four out of five arrests worldwide took place there. 80% of the world total of those given prison sentences for trade union activities were in Africa. Strikes and demonstrations were also harshly repressed.
The legislation of 23 of the 31 African countries covered contains restrictions on the right to strike. The survey lists 834 cases, in nearly two thirds of African countries, a higher average than any other continent.
An overriding feature in Africa is government interference in trade unions' internal affairs. In Libya, Sudan, and Equatorial Guinea the ban on independent trade unions remains. In the Central African Republic, the government continued to target the USTC. Its leader, Théophile Sonny-Cole, was beaten up and prevented from attending international conferences.
In Ethiopia, two leaders of the teachers' union ETA died in prison because of poor conditions, while another received a 15-year prison sentence, as part of continual harassment of the ETA. The national union centre the CETU remained under government control.
The authorities in Djibouti imposed their own candidates at the top of the UGTD and the UDT and froze their assets, claiming the genuine organisations were illegal.
In Morocco, 23 trade unionists were sent prison after striking over labour law violations, 21 of whom had been tortured by police in detention.
In Swaziland, trade unions continued to be repressed. The SFTU and its leaders were regularly harassed. The police detained the entire national executive committee of the Swazi Teachers Union, accusing them of "un-Swazi" behaviour because they had carried a coffin during a march.
Zimbabwe was another country where respect for trade union rights deteriorated dramatically. Three leaders of the ZCTU were attacked following a strike. Strikes were declared illegal and those taking party severely harassed.
The Americas
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 in any other continent, and about 70% of those arrested worldwide for carrying out trade union activities were from Latin America.
Forming a trade union within an enterprise is virtually impossible in many countries. Workers' rights are ignored in the export processing zones (in particular in Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras) and strikes are severely repressed: 726 trade unionists were injured or beaten for trying to enforce their rights.
In Colombia, 76 trade unionists were assassinated or reported missing. These included 23 trade union leaders, 52 grass roots union activists and a union bodyguard. There were 676 death threats, 13 attempted assassinations, 22 kidnaps, 28 forced exiles. The authorities used unnecessary force to end strikes, 149 people were injured and 418 arrested.
In Argentina, mass demonstrations in several provinces to demand the payment of wages were brutally repressed by the police, leaving five dead and 25 injured. Three Guatemalan trade unionists were assassinated and there were at least 20 death threats against union leaders. Violence was particularly bad against banana plantation workers, where transnational corporations tried to destroy the trade unions.
In Costa Rica, banana workers trying to form unions risk the sack and are put on black lists. The suppression of unions enables employers to ignore safety regulations, sometimes with dramatic results. The use of otherwise forbidden pesticides has led to the death of workers. Cases of sterility and of women delivering deformed babies were also reported.
In the United States, freedom of association and the right to strike are severely restricted. At least one in ten union supporters campaigning to form a union is illegally fired. The instances of extreme exploitation have increased, in particular of foreign workers recruited through private employment agencies.
About 40% of public service employees are refused the right to strike and bargain collectively. Workers regularly face harassment.
Asia and the Pacific
At least 37 trade unionists lost their lives during strikes and many others were wounded in 1999. All the countries in the survey have legislation limiting the fundamental right to organise.
In Bangladesh workers have no trade union rights in the export processing zones, while in Thailand, Fiji, India and Sri Lanka, trade unions are not allowed in practice in the zones.
Pakistan's government added to already severe restrictions. A wide range of workers cannot belong to unions. In the country's export processing zones workers cannot form unions, bargain or go on strike.
Strikes and demonstrations are fiercely repressed. 19 of the 25 countries in the region have anti-strike legislation. In 40% of countries, trade unionists were beaten or injured as a result of their trade union activities. Nearly half of all cases of government interference in trade union affairs took place in Asia.
In North Korea and Burma, the authorities have banned the formation of independent trade unions.
China represses any attempt to form independent trade unions. Many unionists remained behind bars or were sent to prison without trial. At least 164 independent labour activists were sent to "rehabilitation through labour" camps.
Hundreds of Chinese workers were injured during clashes with the police as they were protesting against the closures of factories, which have resulted in millions of people losing their jobs. In Indonesia, although the trade union situation has improved since the fall of President Suharto, the police and military still brutally intervene in most strikes.
In South Korea, 230 people were arrested, more than 150 injured and over 650 harassed in anti-union repression. The recent history of Australian trade unionism has been one of continual assaults on trade unions at national and state level, through the introduction of repressive legislation to deprive unions of their rights.
In Turkey the police have a record of continually repressing demonstrations.
Middle East
Trade unions are virtually non-existent in the Middle East. In all the cases examined by the ICFTU, legal barriers prevent workers from organising or striking. In Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, foreign workers, who make up at least two thirds of the labour force, have virtually no rights and are not covered by any of the existing collective agreements.
The situation is slightly better in Kuwait, where workers who have been in the country for five years are allowed to join unions.
In Israel, the government used the law to ban strikes in the public sector. Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip who work in Israel cannot join Israeli trade unions nor can they organise their own unions in Israel.
Europe
Seven people in Europe lost their lives owing to their trade union activities, while another two committed suicide to draw the authorities' attention to the conditions they faced.
In a quarter of the countries examined, trade unionists were injured or beaten. In nearly half of Eastern Europe, the government interfered in trade unions' internal affairs. This interference amounted to about one third of the world total.
In Belarus, President Lukashenko has established total state control over trade unions, making it impossible to start independent trade unions, or for unions to carry out legitimate activities. Trade unionists have been arrested for taking part in demonstrations or threatened with the sack if they do not leave the union.
In Russia, four trade unionists were assassinated. Throughout the year the authorities refused to listen to the strikers' demands, often over the non-payment of wages.
In Malta, the entire leadership of the General Workers Union as well as striking workers were charged with criminal offences, during the six-month industrial dispute, and 80 trade unionists were injured and 41 arrested.
Restrictions on trade union rights persist in Western Europe. In the UK, companies use anti-union legislation still on the statute books to interfere in union affairs. 300 strikers were fired during a dispute with Lufthansa sky chefs, the world's largest catering company.
Belgium is mentioned for court decisions which undermine the right to strike, and Germany and Switzerland ban the right to strike for certain categories of civil servant. For more information, please contact the ICFTU Press Department on +32 2 224 0202 or +32 476 62 10 18.
The story of Elian Gonzalez, the six-year-old Cuban boy rescued from the sea off Florida, USA, and then, after a lengthy legal battle, eventually returned to his father in Cuba, focused attention on the ongoing conflict between the two countries. Below is an edited translation of a proclamation, issued by the National Assembly of People's Power of the Republic of Cuba, on the US's Cuban Adjustment Act.
The liberation and return to Cuba of the kidnapped boy Elián González, alongside his poised and brave father - after
seven months of vigorous, restless, clever and resolute struggle - meant for our homeland an honorable and deserved victory. This battle that we were prepared to wage right through to the end clearly showed the unity and firmness of our people, their heroism and fighting capacity.
It is essential to continue, without wasting a minute, without giving in to fatigue, until the causes that gave rise to that tragedy are removed. It is imperative to do everything necessary to prevent a repetition of the same and this will be possible only by defeating the criminal, immoral and discriminatory immigration policy implemented by imperialism against Cuba from the triumph of the revolution and manifested in the Cuban Adjustment Act.
This is a perverse policy, deliberately conceived to destabilize and undermine Cuban society and cynically calculated to bring about death and suffering while shamefully manipulating the tragedies caused by this Act. This legislative abomination, adopted in 1966, was intended above all to benefit (former dictator) Batista's followers. Its text explicitly emphasizes that it was approved to benefit those who had escaped from Cuba on 1 January 1959, leaving out the considerable number of Cubans who had migrated to the United States before or during the dictatorship.
Therefore, from the very beginning, the Cuban Adjustment Act reflected a discriminatory and immoral stance against the Cuban people. Those who arrived in the US on that date, or in the years immediately following, in the early 1960s, did not do so on flimsy, makeshift vessels. Actually, they left on luxury yachts, private airplanes or regularly scheduled flights, which traveled directly to and from Cuba until the Yankee authorities banned them at the end of 1962, as part of the economic war against our country.
By extending the Act to apply indefinitely into the future, after having severed diplomatic relations, suspended the granting of visas and eliminated the possibilities of traveling normally between the two countries, the only goal pursued was that of encouraging Cubans to attempt to migrate illegally by sea, with all the dangers involved. For many years, those that did so could count on the active cooperation of the US authorities and Coast Guard Service, which systematically and regularly picked up travellers from the sea near Cuba and transported them to American territory.
Others, unfortunately, lost their lives when they were not lucky enough to come across US naval units en route. Both, those who made it and those who did not, have been shamelessly used by the empire for the anti-Cuban propaganda on which billions of dollars have been spent over the last four decades.
By misrepresenting facts and spreading lies as part of a larger operation, they have tried to portray Cubans as people who want to "escape" to the US, and the US as the "generous" nation that takes them in. Neither claim could be further from the truth, which can be proven based on official US statistics.
For over 40 years there has been a special policy exclusively designed for Cuba, manifested in the Adjustment Act and promoted through various means, aimed at encouraging illegal migration from the country while the Cuban people have been the sole target of a genocidal economic war which, among other things, creates conditions that foster the migratory trend.
Yet Cuba is not one of the countries that contributes the largest number of immigrants. There are various countries in our continent with smaller populations and higher numbers of emigrants than Cuba. If there were a way to precisely calculate those who remain in the US undocumented, the contrast would be even more striking: there are countless millions of undocumented Latin Americans living in the US, while thanks to the infamous Adjustment Act, no Cuban immigrant is illegal.
Throughout all of these years, and at an every increasing rate, large numbers of would-be immigrants of other nationalities have also attempted to reach the coasts of the US from more distant shores, without ever receiving the protection and assistance of the US Coast Guards, who invariable send them back to their countries if they find them. Forced to evade the US authorities, these emigrants have always met even greater dangers and suffered more human losses.
However, little is said about them. Their tragedy is ignored and those who manage to enter the US join the millions of undocumented illegal aliens, victims of constant persecution by that country's Immigration and Naturalization Service.
The US has criminally incited Cubans to risk their lives in dangerous sea crossings with the sole, ignoble and repugnant purpose of slandering Cuba and grossly distorting its image. For those prepared to risk their own lives and those of others, including women, children and the elderly, the US opens its doors; these do not need to comply with any requirements.
As a result, it has admitted thousands of individuals who have been or would have been denied a visa to migrate legally, including a considerable number with thick criminal records. This is how the hateful business of alien smuggling has flourished associated with drug smuggling, while no effective measures have been adopted to confront it.
After having suffered the real experience of living in that corrupt, violent, racist and profoundly unfair society, and being subjected to exploitation and discrimination, many Cubans or their descendants sadly yearn for the homeland they lost.
In 1994 and 1995, Washington signed immigration agreements with Cuba, thus taking on the commitment to put an end to this irresponsible policy and strive to channel emigration exclusively through legal, safe and orderly procedures. These agreements have made it possible for a significant number of people to migrate in an orderly fashion.
But, they have not led to a normal migratory process because their implementation has been undermined by the ever-present goal of using the migratory issue as part of the US's arsenal against the Cuban Revolution.
In fact, the Cuban Adjustment Act - particularly following the provisions adopted by the INS last year - and its application constitute an ongoing violation of these agreements further infringed by the constant incitement to illegal migration through radio broadcasts originated in the US, some of which are even officially sponsored.
Meanwhile, Cuba has strictly honored all its commitments. We have done everything within our power to prevent illegal migration through peaceful means and have respected the other aspects contained in the agreements.
The US must put an end to its criminal, irresponsible and demagogic policy, conceived and implemented against the Cubans, which is detrimental to other Latin Americans and harmful to the interests of the American people. The murderous Cuban Adjustment Act must be repealed.
What needs adjustment is the situation of millions of Latin Americans and other immigrants who suffer persecution, discrimination and humiliation in a country where they work hard in extreme conditions of exploitation and abuse.
If the US is prepared to grant legal residence to any Cuban who enters its territory -as it does with those who unnecessarily risk their lives - then it should be willing to grant visas to all those who wish to migrate legally and orderly and it should not demand from them any documentation as it does in the case of those who show contempt for both its laws and ours.
This monstrous crime against the Cuban people must end. The gruesome and cynical exploitation of human beings must end. The repulsive smuggling of human beings and shameful official tolerance of this infamous practice must end. The genocide, the lies and the disdain for life must end. The xenophobia, oppression, hatred and abuse suffered by Latin American immigrants must end.
We will keep on struggling until this goal is attained. We will keep on struggling to fulfill the Oath of Baraguá. We will do it with the same energy and tenacity we put in to save Elián. Our battle is to save the homeland. It is a fight for life. City of Havana, 12 July 12, 2000 National Assembly of People's Power
Swaziland's time-bomb about to explode - Mass action throughout the country By Bongani Masuku, General Secretary of the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN)
Barbarism, brute force, false glory, affirmation of militarism, negation of international law and permanent insult to the conquered by their conqueror. This is how best the situation of forceful demolition of people's homes in Swaziland at Kamwheli and Mctjeni can be described.
Personal belongings, relatives, children, parents and almost everything has been lost in these areas and there is a cry and gnash of teeth as people take into the streets in protest, and the state becomes even more brutal and desperate. This explains why the university and schools are closed, workers are not at work and mass action is the order of the day.
The recent appointment of two of the king's brothers as chiefs to replace four chiefs indicates the extent to which the regime is so desperate to impose its hegemony on the whole of Swazi society. The appointment was very strategic in the sense that the princesses have been allocated some of the richest soils in Southern Africa, comparatively.
This is an old strategy of the royal family, to create a bourgeoisie class from the traditional aristocracy through the forceful acquisition of land and its subsequent - the dispossession of the oppressed masses.
The unity of the democratic forces of Swaziland has never been so high. It continues to inspire thousands of people to take up the fight against landlessness, persecution of journalists and political activists, abuse of women and children, massive retrenchment of workers and masses' denial of their rights.
In one instance, a student from the University of Swaziland who comes from the affected areas, after hearing about this disaster, went home to assess the extent of the damage only to find that the place she called home is now "rubble".
She was then told that her parents have been moved to Motshane, where she quickly hurried to only to find her parents were nowhere to be found, which is the case up to this day. She is just one of many royal-made orphans, childless parents, wives without husbands and vice versa. People have been left without relatives.
Students were forced to leave their schools in the middle of exams, while workers were forcefully removed from their workplaces and dumped nowhere without clothing, food and shelter.
This is the right time for SADC and other international bodies to impose stiffer penalties against this brutal regime. Economic sanctions and political isolation are the only things that can induce sanity into the royal family gone man with power.
This has proven historically to be the only language tin-pot dictators can hear.
We call on all peace-loving people of South Africa and the world to act now to save a country under siege, people denied their humanity and a future painted with hopelessness and despair.
The SSN is preparing for year 2001, which has been declared the International anti-Tinkhundla year by the SSN itself, which shall make the intensification of international unity against tinkhundla oppression.
The month of November shall see the organization of Swazis based in South Africa and all members of the Swaziland Solidarity Network, as well as sympathizers of the cause for democracy in Swaziland to a meeting in Johannesburg to prepare for on-going solidarity activities.
Finally, we call on the South African government to cut ties with the undemocratic and brutal regime of Mswati, which should ultimately lead to the closure of the Swazi embassy in Pretoria to isolate tinkhundla dictatorship at all levels. For more details contact the Swaziland Solidarity Network offices and ask for: Cde Nkhululeko Dlamini, Lucky Lukhele or Bongani Masuku
By Simon Boshielo, COSATU International Officer
COSATU has been closely following recent developments in the Middle East and the violence that have left at least 89 people dead. The federation notes with deepest sense of regret that this violence has turned the clock back about the possibility for a peace settlement.
While we are in no way persuaded to agree with unleashing violence to accelerate the settlement of the Palestinian question, on other hand we believe that the Palestinian state in long overdue.
The postponement by Israel in ceding the Provinces of Gaza and West Bank to Palestine and the delay in placing Jerusalem under United Nations (UN) control, as a holy city for both Muslims and Christians, does not only further hostilities, but it continues to be a recipe for further loss of life.
What disturbs COSATU most is the double standards of the US in fermenting the rivalry amongst the people of the Middle East. On the one hand, Secretary of State Madeline Albright and President Clinton have sponsored several fiasco meetings. On the other, they continue to support Israel in the UN and militarily. It means that the US is a player and a referee in one match. These acts of double standards must stop with immediate effect.
COSATU condemns all acts of violence, as they deepen the hostilities and do not offer any solution to the issues at hand. We call on Ehud Barak and his regime to evacuate their armed forces from the West Bank and Gaza, so that necessary conditions for the establishment of the Palestinian state can prevail.
We urge the UN to expedite the implementation of Resolution 242 and act swiftly to resolve the impasse in this part of the world. The people cannot wait for another day for their independence.
In conclusion, we want condemn the indecisive manner in which the UN has left Israel to derail peace processes with its recalcitrance over the administration of Jerusalem. We are looking very closely to the development and the wishy-washy manner in which the international community is treating the Palestinian question. For us the issues of national independence and national sovereignty are priorities of all priorities.
We finally urge the South African government to exert the required pressure to expedite the negotiations and the peace settlement in the Middle East. In addition, COSATU will, consistent with its resolutions from 7th Congress, be mounting a campaign of rolling mass action against the governments of both the US and Israel.
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