Globalisation eroding workers rights

By Morris Aron

Poor countries are suffering the most from the effects of global economic crises while they are the least originators, workers’ union leaders attending the Global Economic Forum in Beijing have said.

The union leaders said that while globalisation process calamities from energy crisis, to food crisis, to financial crisis and the inherent effects of climate change.

“These crises threaten the realisation of the millennium development goals and the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the north and south,” said Francis Atwoli on behalf of the Trade Union Federation of East Africa.
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“This is unsustainable and unacceptable state of affairs. Besides the dramatic effects of current crises in recent years the world has witnessed a substantial and growing transfer of capital from the south to the north,” said Atwoli.

The leaders said that the crises has led to millions of workers loosing employment and blamed the European government and their financial systems for the current crisis even as the rich capital owners continue to be beneficiaries through bail out that is widening the inequality gap.

The union leaders attending the forum also noted that while the immediate response of the governments in the North has been to bail out banks and private financial institutions, the same governments have been reluctant to respond cries of poverty, marginalisation and unemployment that affect the majority of people in the world today.

Among the workers’ rights that the leaders said have been infringed upon include the owners of capital resorting to scouting for cheap labour from country to country instead of addressing the underlying issues. Companies also cut number of workers due to the global crisis, a move that has seen cases of unemployment increase.

In extreme cases, reports indicate that employers have colluded with governments to deny workers the rights to associate and the right to organize and collectively bargain as contained in International Labour Organisation Conventions 87 and 98.

“The poor countries have even engaged in the race to the bottom by lowering labour standards in an effort to attract capital owners and investors.  This widens the gap between Investors,  Employers and workers.”

Some of the cited examples of the emerging trend include Special Economic Zones and Export Processing Zones been created and in many occasions are exempted from the labour laws that are meant to protect workers.

According to the union leaders, this has resulted in discrimination based on sex, religion especially in the case of migrant workers. Then there is the concern of workers being paid wages that are way below a decent living wage.

The right to social security is an entitlement to everyone includes all workers.
“It is time international community to set social security floor to protect the vulnerable groups of the society. Cash transfer, unemployment benefits and medical insurance should be extended to the lower income earners,” said Atwoli.