France: PonteSud – Charissa Swanepoel
Workers’ rights around the world are “in free fall”, with widespread attempts to hamstring collective bargaining and attacks on trade union representatives, the world’s largest trade union organisation said Monday. Europe and the Americas clocked up the worst results in the last ten years.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) found a “profound deterioration” in workers’ rights in its annual rights index published on Monday, based on 97 indicators laid out by the United Nations and international treaties.
Workers’ rights, which the report measured in 151 countries, particularly declined in Europe and the Americas – with the worst results for the two regions since the index was launched in 2014.
In total, 87 percent of countries violated the right to strike and 80 percent violated the right to collective bargaining, the ITUC said.
The report also said outlined “persecution” against union leaders.
“In France, more than 1,000 union leaders and members of the Confederation generale du travail (CGT) were facing criminal charges and disciplinary measures for their roles in mass protests against pension reforms,” it said.
The ITUC also said trade unionists or workers were killed in five countries in 2025: South Africa, Cameroon, Colombia, Guatemala and Peru.
Nigeria joined the list of the 10 worst countries for workers’ rights for the first time. Only a handful of countries saw an improvement in workers’ rights. Reforms strengthened trade union rights in Australia, while in Mexico, labour law changes improved access to justice for workers.
