The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) released the 2026 edition of its annual Global Rights Index (June 2026). Now in its 13th edition, the index ranks countries from 1 to 5, with 1 being the best (sporadic violations of rights) and 5 the worst (no guarantee of rights). The category of 5+ is given to countries with a full breakdown in rule of law due to conflict or military occupation.
Human Level’s Take:
- The ITUC’s 2026 Global Rights Index documents another year of deterioration in workers’ rights globally, with four countries downgraded in their ratings from last year and only three improved. Once again, Europe and the Americas both recorded their worst average scores to date.
- Violations are accelerating at a worrying pace across several key indicators. In 2026, attacks on free speech and assembly were reported in 50% of countries, up from 45% in 2025 and the highest level ever recorded. Workers continued to be targeted, with workers detained or arrested in 75 countries, and workers subject to violence in 32% of countries surveyed, up from 26% in 2025. Trade unionists were killed in four countries: Angola, Colombia, Indonesia and Mexico.
- The report documents direct private sector involvement in the violations it tracks, naming companies across apparel, food and agriculture, construction and telecommunications. In addition, the growing use of digital surveillance tools, deployed by both governments and employers to monitor workers and suppress union organising, is identified as a concerning emerging trend — one worth particular attention for companies using AI and other emerging tech.
- The index offers hope through positive cases, including Botswana, the United Kingdom and Uruguay. These countries’ ranking improved following legislative reform, preceded by genuine social dialogue with unions, pointing to the value of companies actively supporting worker voice and union presence in their operations and using leverage to encourage suppliers and business partners to engage meaningfully with workers.
- For companies operating across global supply chains, the index provides instructive cases for taking a closer look at how workers’ rights safeguards are implemented in practice. A key action area to support this: making sure grievance mechanisms are genuinely accessible to workers who may face retaliation for speaking up, and deploying human rights risk assessments designed to detect risks in environments where workers cannot freely organise.
Some key takeaways:
- Enforcement of workers’ rights is getting worse: The index highlights a continued and in some cases accelerating decline in enforcement of workers’ rights. According to the report, 87% of countries violated the right to strike, unchanged from last year, while 80% restricted collective bargaining and 75% impeded union registration, also at record or near-record levels. Violations of free speech and assembly reached a new high of 50%, up five percentage points in a single year. Workers were detained or arrested in a record 75 countries (50%), up from 71 in 2025, while violence against workers rose sharply from 26% to 32% of countries and trade unionists were killed in Angola, Colombia, Indonesia and Mexico. Six out of ten workers worldwide are in union-hostile environments, characterised by systematic violations of rights or worse conditions, and the number of countries where workers have no guarantee of rights was recorded at 41. The three global trends identified by the report as shaping the future of labour rights include the targeted persecution of union leaders, the use of digital surveillance to monitor and discipline workers, and the exclusion of unions from labour law reform. These themes are evidenced across all five global regions and cut across sectors and country income levels.
- Where are conditions the worst and where are they improving?: The 10 countries ranked worst on workers’ rights in 2026 were Argentina, Belarus, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Myanmar, Nigeria, Panama, Tunisia and Türkiye. Two regions recorded their lowest-ever average ratings in 2026: the Americas and Europe. In the Americas, Argentina and Panama both entered the top 10 worst countries list, each falling two tiers in two years. The Middle East and North Africa remained the worst region overall, with an average rating of 4.68, unchanged from 2025, and all 19 countries in the region violating the rights to collective bargaining, to form or join a union, and to register a union. The Gulf region warrants particular attention, where workers face acute restrictions on organising and heightened exposure to attacks during the ongoing regional conflict. A new watchlist flags seven countries at risk of further downgrade: Guinea-Bissau, Israel, Liberia, the Philippines, the Republic of Moldova, the United States and Zimbabwe. On the flip side, the index highlights positive cases of improved ratings in Botswana, the United Kingdom and Uruguay, all improving in their ranking following legislative reform preceded by structured consultation with trade unions. In each case, the index notes the role of inclusive social dialogue contributing to more worker-centred and effective labour reforms.
- Company practices are under scrutiny: The index documents direct private sector involvement in the violations it tracks, naming companies across apparel, food and beverage, construction and telecommunications. Cases include companies leaving collective bargaining agreements, weaponising fixed-term contracts with unionists and fabricating criminal charges against union leaders. The report also documents more indirect company practices infringing on workers’ rights, such as a pattern of employers creating parallel “yellow” unions, dominated or influenced by the employer, to circumvent genuine collective bargaining. In addition, an alarming emerging theme highlights the growing use of digital surveillance tools, deployed by both governments and employers to monitor workers, suppress union organising and identify activists.
