Asia and the Pacific
Young women workers in textile factories in the export processing zones (EPZs) are still typical victims of trade union rights violations in the region. Unions are banned in EPZs in Pakistan and in the Delhi State in India. In Bangladesh, meanwhile, the phased introduction of (limited) trade union rights in EPZs got off to a poor start, as employers routinely harassed, suspended and fired leaders of Workers’ Representation and Welfare Committees during the year. Serious incidents were also reported in the Cavite EPZ in the Philippines.
There were more mass dismissals and arrests in response to collective action in Asia than in any other region in the world. At a conservative estimate, at least 4,800 workers were dismissed for their trade union activities during the year, and over 2,800 were arrested. In India 300 workers were arrested during a strike over unpaid wages in an EPZ and 1,300 were arrested while protesting at the dismissal of union leaders. In Sri Lanka 1600 workers were fired for going on strike during a pay dispute.
The excessive use of force by police, a common trend reported in last year’s survey, continued during the year. Police attacks against workers occurred on almost a monthly basis in Cambodia, leaving at least 30 workers injured in a series of incidents. In Malaysia there were violent police attacks on union led rallies, with batons, dogs and water cannon used to disperse an MTUC protest in March, while in May another protest came to be known as “Bloody Sunday” because of the seriousness of the injuries caused. In Bangladesh two women union organisers and a colleague, arrested over a strike in an EPZ garment factory, showed signs of torture when they appeared in court.
Striking and protesting workers also suffered at the hands of management-hired thugs. In Indonesia a union leader at a furniture factory was beaten by thugs after a protest strike and demonstration. In Cambodia three union leaders at one garment factory were attacked and injured by thugs in separate incidents, while a union vice-president at another factory was shot in the leg on his way home, and his general secretary was savagely beaten with a metal pipe.
Bangladesh was one of the four countries in the region where workers died for trying to enforce their union rights. In one incident at an EPZ garment factory the police opened fire on strikers, killing one worker and injuring others. In India a farm worker was killed when police attacked protestors, injuring another 70. Two deaths were reported in Nepal where trade unions were the target of heavy-handed repression by the security forces because of their close involvement with the struggle for democratic rule. During the April uprising many unionists were injured at the hands of the police, and two activists from the transport union were shot dead.
The Philippines however stands out as the most violent country in the region. In an attempt to crush popular protests against the president’s rule, labour leaders were among those targeted as “enemies of the state”. At least 33 trade unionists were killed in a wave of extrajudicial violence. Evidence suggests that the police and armed forces or their militia were primarily responsible for the attacks.
Suspicions of an official cover-up in Cambodia were reinforced as further evidence emerged that those jailed for the murder of trade union leader Chea Vichea were merely scapegoats, while the true perpetrators remained free.
There was no change in China where the law does not allow for any independent trade union activity. Over 100 workers were arrested and detained for their involvement in collective protest action, while the official “trade union” did nothing to protect them. Workers were also injured in many incidents, including one in July when scores were beaten by riot police sent in to control a protest at a toy factory.
Heavy repression continued in Burma. Five activists were arrested and sentenced to lengthy prison terms for supplying information to the banned independent trade union federation FTUB, and a woman activist from the Karen Health Workers’ Union was sentenced to four years in prison with hard labour for “connections with illegal organisations”.
Last but not least, in Australia 107 construction workers faced individual prosecution and huge fines for their involvement in a dispute that had already been settled, while yet more punitive rules were brought in when the Workplace Relations Amendment Act came into force in March, further restricting collective bargaining and the right to strike.