Our key takeaway: According to the ITUC, the ten worst countries in the world for workers’ rights in 2022 are Bangladesh, Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Eswatini, Guatemala, Myanmar, the Philippines and Turkey. Two of these (Eswatini and Guatemala) are new additions to the list. Nine other countries saw their ratings worsen (Armenia, Australia, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Jamaica, Lesotho, the Netherlands, Tunisia and Uruguay) and one (Afghanistan) has experienced a breakdown in rule of law leading to no guarantee of workers’ rights. At the same time, three countries have improved their ratings (El Salvador, Niger and Saudi Arabia). Overall, the findings of ITUC’s annual reporting on the state of global workers’ rights paint a concerning picture, wherein the rights to strike, to join trade unions and to collectively bargain are being eroded by governments and companies alike—sometimes with brutal violence or judicial persecution. One key question comes to mind: How can a post-pandemic economic recovery and a just energy transition happen if governments and companies continue to repress the rights of workers?
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) released its 2022 ITUC Global Rights Index (July 2022), which ranks the degree of respect for workers’ rights in 148 countries and tracks trends based on violations of international recognised labour rights by governments and employers: