ICFTU Survey 2001: 223 trade unionists assassinated
worldwide

Africa: anti-union repression
toughens

Obstruction of union work, intimidation, arrests and even
deaths of strikers again characterised the very sombre
picture of anti-union repression in Africa in 2001.
Zimbabwe alone accounted for the three dead workers on
this continent and for 223 of the 282 cases of injured trade
unionists throughout the 37 African countries covered by
the new ICFTU Survey.

Brussels, 18 June 2002: On 8 August 2001, at the Zimbabwe
Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO) collective bargaining was at a
standstill. Since they were no longer able to discuss the issues of
wages and benefits, thousands of workers at the factory
followed traditional union procedures and went on strike. The
army opened fire and two of the strikers, Samuel Masivatsa and
Never Daniels, were shot dead. A third worker also hit by
bullets, J. Zimba, died shortly afterwards.

In addition to such extreme acts of violence perpetrated by the
public authorities, the ICFTU Survey denounces the huge
increase in other forms of repression in the region. The
techniques used to bully workers and their representatives have
ranged from brutality (282 cases listed in 2001) to arrests (185
cases listed), and have included many sackings of trade unionists
(4067 cases listed).

Leading exponents of repression: Zimbabwe and Swaziland

Zimbabwe accounts for a total of 223 of the 282 cases of
injured and assaulted trade unionists listed from the 37 African
countries covered by the Survey. Members of the ZCTU
confederation, which has incurred considerable governmental
wrath owing to its desire for reforms and opposition to the
regime, have been the main victims. Swaziland also heads the
states which are particularly reluctant to introduce reforms and
democracy (tendencies represented by the unions in certain
African countries). In this small despotic kingdom in Southern
Africa, the king and his puppet government have continued to
undermine the SFTU, whose General Secretary Jan Sithole, the
"bête noire" of the regime, has received constant death threats.
On 18 January, six leaders including the SFTU General
Secretary were accused of contempt of court for having
organised a strike on 12 November 2000 in order to present a
petition to the Prime Minister. The authorities had banned the
action but the strike went ahead. Their trial, which began in
March, continued throughout the year.

Flouting of union rights

There is a long list of countries guilty of bullying, arrests and
sacking of trade unionists. Amongst the "worst pupils" is
Malawi. Here, the right to organise does exist, registered unions
may strike, collective bargaining is recognised in law and labour
legislation is applicable in export processing zones. However, in
practice, only 10% of workers are in formal jobs and thus
covered by labour legislation. The authorities have sacked
workers who go on strike (such as 350 workers from the water
company Lilonwe) along with their union reps and suspended
the President of the Malawi Railway Workers Union (RWU).

In Morocco the same hypocrisy prevails: the main rights of
workers are very poorly respected in practice by employers,
with the tacit endorsement of the authorities. Some of the worst
culprits are multinationals. For instance, when a union was set up
in November 2000 in a subsidiary of the Irish group "Fruit of the
Loom" in the town of Salé - where the company employs over
1200 people - a whole array of anti-union tactics was deployed.
When the UMT reported the matter to the governor he
announced that he did not want any unions in his "prefecture".

Bad legislative trends

In addition to the growing gulf between what is stipulated in
labour codes and the actual application of such legislation, trade
union activity had also been severely impeded by the negative
trends in legislation in certain countries. In Senegal, for
example, the new Constitution adopted in January 2001
seriously undermines the right to strike. Workers from the Cape
Verde transport firm Sotrac, who demonstrated in order to get
the severance pay they had been promised, suffered the effects
of these changes: several were seriously wounded when the
police intervened to disperse the demonstration they had
organised in front of the President's palace. In Uganda in
August, the government announced to all trade unions a
unilateral ban on all general meetings, thereby denying the right
of members to elect their leaders, draft policies or determine
their activities. The General Secretary of the public employees
union was also stripped of his post by the government. What is
more, at the end of the year the government had still not replied
to a request for registration presented by the Ugandan teaching
unions back in 1997.

Ubiquitous repression

Many African trade unionists are continuing to live under
constant threat of reprisals. That has been the case in Sudan,
Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea and Libya, where independent
unions are simply banned. In Sudan, members of the only union
tolerated (SWTUF), which is controlled by the State, were even
forced to work "underground" in 2001 and report that they live
in constant fear.

Elsewhere, such as Chad or Nigeria, where the unions are
"tolerated", infringements of union rights have increased. In the
State of Borno in Nigeria, the police used tear gas and real
bullets to disperse demonstrators protesting against wage
reductions. In Ethiopia, nothing has really changed as regards
the repression against the teachers' union (ETA), which is no
longer operational.

Job losses and wages arrears

According to the Survey, the cumulative impact of the declining
economic situation and the structural programmes supported by
the IMF and the World Bank caused huge losses of jobs and
several months of salary arrears in many countries throughout the
year. In Togo, where these arrears amount to anything from 8 to
15 months for some teachers, the government even issued a
series of decrees ordering that teachers joining strikes protesting
against non-payment of wages would not be paid during their
absence from work.

When international solidarity makes a difference

The only glimpse of hope in this gloomy picture is international
trade union solidarity. An example of this was provided in the
Central African Republic, where the leader of the USTC,
Théophile Sony Colé, was arrested by the authorities on 17
June, at Bangui airport, on his return from an ICFTU (AFRO)
meeting in Nairobi. The international reaction was immediate.
ICFTU-AFRO alerted a maximum number of regional and
global players, who proceeded to condemn the arrest. This
pressure was key to the liberation of the union leader. In Ghana
the mobilisation by the international union movement, especially
through the International Federation of Building and
Woodworkers (IFBWW), also enabled the successful outcome
of the conflict between the Ghanaian union CBMWU and Zoe
Royal Company Ltd.

For the 132 countries and territories covered by the 2001
edition of the annual Survey, the ICFTU lists a total of 223
murdered or "disappeared" trade unionists (i.e. 14 more
than in 2000), with a terrifying record figure of 201
assassinations or "disappearances" in Colombia alone.
The worldwide figures report some 4,000 arrests, 1,000
injuries and 10,000 sackings of trade unionists.

* Embargo - June 18 - 00.01am *

The ICFTU represents 157 million workers in 225 affiliated
organisations in 148 countries and territories. ICFTU is also a
member of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org

For more information, please contact Louis Belanger ICFTU
Press Officer on +32 2 224 0232 or +32 476 62 10 18
(Mobile).