Monitoring International Labor Standards Techniques and Sources of Information (2004) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
4 Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining
4 Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective Bargaining
Pages 104-134
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 104... ...
The chapter begins with a discussion of the complexities and challenges of defining freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining. It then turns to assessing a country's compliance using the three sets of indicators in the committee's template: legal framework, government performance, and overall outcomes.
|
From page 105... ...
. The committee has also benefited from comments by Anthony Giles, research director, Commission for Labor Cooperation, North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, and Ben Davis, American Center for International Labor Solidarity.
|
From page 106... ...
One such complexity is how to handle a "closed shop" -- laws that allow collective agreements that make it compulsory for employers to recruit only workers who are members of trade unions and who must remain union members and pay union dues in
|
From page 107... ...
87 and No. 98 unless it occurs on an "extensive" basis.3 3The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions has observed (International Labour Organization, 1991)
|
From page 108... ...
In the judgment of the ILO, employers often encourage -- and provide funding to -- these worker-management organizations to promote "harmonious relations and obviat(e) the need for workers to form trade unions" (International Labour Organization, 1998)
|
From page 109... ...
ASSESSING COMPLIANCE The committees' template to evaluating a states' compliance with freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining requires examination of three categories of indicators: 1. the legal framework (at all levels of government)
|
From page 110... ...
law also excludes from coverage large seg ments of the labor force -- agricultural workers, domestic work ers, low-level supervisors, and "independent contractors" who are really dependent on one employer for their livelihoods. The Na tional Labor Relations Act excludes about twenty million private sector workers.
|
From page 111... ...
87 (International Labour Organization, 1994, 1996)
|
From page 112... ...
In assessing these complex aspects of a nations' legal framework, an assessor must decide whether simply to follow ILO jurisprudence as far as it goes or to move beyond ILO jurisprudence on issues that are more contentious and less settled. The committee generally followed ILO interpretations in developing its indicators for assessing compliance (International Labour Organization, 8ILO jurisprudence generally considers that the prohibition of the right to strike in the public sector should be limited to public servants exercising authority in the name of the state, but definitions of exactly which workers this definition covers vary.
|
From page 113... ...
whether there are legal restrictions on political activities of unions or employers' organizations, either by establishing a close relationship between trade union organizations and political parties, or by prohibiting all political activities for trade unions (including making financial contributions to a political party or candidate)
|
From page 114... ...
whether legal regulations permit employers to dismiss striking workers, or permit hiring of permanent strike replacement workers; A-20. assessment of extent to which "right to work" laws or other "free rider" provisions undermine the ability of workers to organize and the extent to which laws require workers to join a given trade union as a condition of employment or that new workers be hired through a given trade union; and A-21.
|
From page 115... ...
The positive agenda of promoting compliance includes governmental efforts and effectiveness in educating workers about their rights and remedies, in building capacity for government officials with responsibility for labor matters at the federal, state or provincial, and municipal levels, and in facilitating dissemination of best practices in workplace cooperation, through unions, employer groups, labor-management organizations, labororiented NGOs, and what the ILO calls tripartite social dialogue (International Labour Organization, 2002)
|
From page 116... ...
the ability of trade unions to provide support for political parties and candidates; B-7. government actions to combat labor-related corruption (such as control of unions by criminal figures for use as a protection racket or for financial skimming)
|
From page 117... ...
First, union density numbers are often not reliable.12 Trade unions often try to create an impression of strength by inflating their membership numbers, and governments also manipulate trade union membership data. Second, high union density numbers may not be indicative of genuine freedom of association because national governments or political parties may exercise control over membership.
|
From page 118... ...
The use of union density as a proxy for compliance with freedom of association is built on the implicit assumption that, in the presence of genuine freedom of association, all workers would join a trade union, but this assumption might be at variance with reality (Freeman and Rogers, 1999)
|
From page 119... ...
Thus, each of the committees' four indicators for assessing overall outcomes needs interpretation to be used to measure compliance with freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining: C-1. union density; C-2.
|
From page 120... ...
. This section of the chapter has also benefited from commentary from Anthony Giles, research director, Commission on Labor Cooperation, North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation, and from Ben Davis, American Center for International Labor Solidarity.
|
From page 121... ...
U.S. Department of States' Annual Section 6 Reports The Department of States' annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices address workers' rights in Section 6, providing a valuable source of information for indicators A-1 through A-21, B-1 through B-13, and C-1 through C-4.
|
From page 122... ...
With total membership among its affiliates estimated at about 158 million, the ICFTU provides a unique channel for workers' concerns about freedom of association (International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, 2003b)
|
From page 123... ...
This skews the distribution of reports toward those whose trade unions avail themselves of the CFA complaint procedure or toward countries targeted by external trade unionists if in-country trade unions are not in a position to avail themselves of this mechanism. The CFA does not purport to conduct a general survey.
|
From page 124... ...
87 and No. 98 (International Labour Organization, 2000b)
|
From page 125... ...
garment importers and trade unions and with embassy officials from the countries to be visited. It relied on intensive interviews with government officials, employers, unions, workers, and NGOs and included plant visits to more than 70 factories in 20 EPZs in the six countries.
|
From page 126... ...
agencies consign responsibility for freedom of association issues to the ILO, occasional reports by the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights include labor rights violations, along with investigation of other human rights abuses.
|
From page 127... ...
NGOs that regularly report information pertaining to freedom of association are Freedom House and Human Rights Watch. Other U.S.
|
From page 128... ...
. On Sri Lanka, Freedom House says, "Trade unions are independent and collective bargaining is practiced," but unions have complained that employer-created "workers' councils" have supplanted trade unions.
|
From page 129... ...
Global Alliance for Workers and Communities As part of its assessment of workers' needs, the Global Alliance for Workers and Communities has provided careful and well-organized survey information that includes some attention to freedom of association. Global Alliance reports can provide indepth insights about worker treatment and worker preferences at plants in China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Thailand and can provide information for indicators A-1 through A-21, B-1 through B-13, and C-1 though C-4.16 Lawyers Committee for Human Rights The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights has issued reports that touch on freedom of association issues in Cambodia, China, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jordan, and South Korea.
|
From page 130... ...
Asia Monitor Resource Centre 22 might be consulted for information on Asian EPZs, including China; International Centre for Trade Union Rights23 for coverage of African countries; China Labour Bulletin24 and Human Rights in China25 for coverage of China; Global Standards for coverage of Vietnam;26 and Correio Sindical Mercosur for coverage of the southern cone of South America. 20See http://www.clrlabor.org [June 23, 2003]
|
From page 131... ...
4-1 The U.S. Department of Labor, and the International Labour Organization, support systematic data collection by providing technical assistance to developing country governments to add questions to household surveys relating to freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to bargain collectively.
|
From page 132... ...
Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Human Rights Watch.
|
From page 133... ...
. International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.
|
From page 134... ...
Presented to the National Research Council Workshop on International Labor Standards: Quality of Information and Measures of Progress. Washington, DC.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.