For the second time this year a leader of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT) was arrested, this time for suspicion of insulting a public official at a protest outside the country’s Ministry of Culture building. The arrest of the UGTT’s secretary for culture, Abdel Nasser Ben Amara last month—who has since been acquitted in court—is having a chilling effect on union work in the country and their efforts to represent workers’ interests, say unions.
The UGTT with civil society organizations last year convened a national initiative for the restoration of democracy after more than 90 percent of the country’s voters stayed away from Tunisia’s widely criticized December 2022 parliamentary elections. Workers last month took part in a series of rallies across the country to protest the government’s increased aggression against the union and its members, including arrest of general secretary of the highway workers’ union, Anis Kaabi. On Saturday more than 3,000 people joined a UGTT-organized rally calling for the government to accept “dialogue.”
Anis Kaabi’s January arrest after leading a strike by toll booth workers was denounced by a coalition of 66 human rights groups and Tunisian political parties as a “desperate attempt to criminalize union work.” European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) General Secretary Esther Lynch was ordered in February to leave the country after having addressed UGTT rally goers and called on Tunisia’s government to negotiate with workers to stabilize the economy.
Union members who legally exercise their rights in Tunisia, such as the freedom to strike, have been increasingly targeted, according to data from the UGTT, which found that the percentage of cases filed against union members rose in 2022, with a quarter of them directed against women. The government through February had filed more than 60 cases against union members for exercising their internationally recognized labor rights, according to UGTT, which says the numbers indicate a stepped-up effort to diminish the union’s power and turn public opinion against it.
The UGTT, which represents more than 1 million members, in 2015 shared a Nobel Peace Prize with three other civil society groups for promoting national dialogue in Tunisia.
“Unions are the largest civil society organizations in any country, they are membership-based, sustainable, and are themselves examples of democratic practice,” said Shawna Bader-Blau, the executive director of the Solidarity Center. “Weak or strong, they have elections.” Their capacity to mobilize, act collectively, strike and force political change far outweighs whatever smaller nongovernmental organizations can muster, she said.
Dozens of union leaders from across Africa took part in the first-ever Summit for Democracy event on the continent March 30, where they discussed the essential role of unions in strengthening democracy and shared strategies on how unions can step up efforts to advance democracy through one of its most essential components—worker rights. Co-hosted by the Multilateral Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment and Rights (M-POWER) and the Zambian Congress of Trade Union (ZCTU), the day-long conference included interactive sessions focused on strengthening democracy and opening rapidly closing civic space in Africa.
“Amplifying the Voices of Workers to Safeguard Democracy in Africa” was an official side event of the second Summit for Democracy, a global democracy initiative co-hosted by Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea, the United States and Zambia March 28–30, 2023. The second Summit showcased progress made by Summit partners on their commitments in the first year of the global initiative—M-POWER is one of the largest commitments made by Summit partners.
“There’s no democracy without workers.” – Joy Beene, Secretary General, ZCTU
Christopher Johnson, Regional Program Director, Solidarity Center gives a big shout out to ZCTU for hosting the Summit for Democracy and to M-POWER which seeks to ensure worker rights are respected and promoted.
Matthew Parks, Parliamentary Coordinator, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) describes workers’ struggles for rights as also a fight to improve the lives of their children.
“Unions are essential to democracy; if we believe in democracy we need strong labor movements.” – Thea Lee, Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor (Photo: Solidarity Center)
DECLINING LABOR AND HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS ON THE AFRICAN CONTINENT
“Unity among workers is most important. Employers and the government will only recognize us when we can stay united as working people.” – Japhet Moyo, Secretary General, ZCTU
Bheki Mamba, President, Trade Union Congress of Swaziland describes deteriorating human rights and worker rights in Eswatini where government authorized shooting protestors, killing over 80 people with hundreds arrested on trumped up charges.
Kassahun Follo, President, Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions, says in past 6 months, more than 60 workers have been killed during current violence in Ethiopia.
THE ROLE OF WORKERS IN DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE IN AFRICA
“How can we enjoy our rights as workers if we can’t express ourselves?” – Richard Mulonga, Chief Executive Officer, Bloggers Association of Zambia
Dan Mihadi, General Secretary, Transport Workers Union – Kenya, stresses the importance of workers and their unions to be involved in the political process to facilitate the growth of democracy.
HOW WORKERS CAN STRENGTHEN DEMOCRACY THROUGH ELIMINATION OF STATE CAPTURE AND CORRUPTION IN AFRICA
Annette Chipeleme-Chola, Director, Organizing & Trade Union Development, Zambia Congress of Trade Unions and Worker Member, ILO Governing Body
“Unions can help end corruption and state capture through partnerships like M-POWER while speaking more to how people can benefit from democracy.” – Joel Odigie, Deputy General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation-Africa
YOUTH & WOMEN WORKERS’ PARTICIPATION IN DEMOCRATIC GOVERNANCE
“The voice of workers will not be heard unless they are free to organize themselves into unions.” – Toindepi Dhure, General Secretary, Zimbabwe Domestic and Allied Workers Union
Alex Nkosi, Coordinator, ITUC-Africa, shares examples of young activists who led movements for independence as examples of how the union movement needs to nurture youth leadership & participation to build & strengthen democracy.
“The definition of democracy says it represents the interests of citizens. Is that just men? No, it’s also women. Everyone must be represented for there to be democracy.” – Naomi Kimbala Lunat, Director-Gender, Youth and Child Development, Zambia Congress of Trade Unions
CLOSING STATEMENTS
“Threats to workers … union busting, gender-based violence, are threats to democracy. The global labor movement is at the heart of promoting democracy through freedom of association.” – Lisa Peterson, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Bureau, U.S. State Department
MORE FROM THE EVENT
Joel Odigie and a group of newly organizing Marriott hotel workers
Paddy Mukando, Master of Ceremonies
M-POWER is a historic global initiative focused on ensuring working families thrive in the global economy and elevating the role of trade unions and organized workers as essential to advancing democracy. It includes steering committee members from governments, philanthropy and labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO, Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF) and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC); the governments of Argentina, Canada, Spain and the United States; and Funders Organized for Rights in the Global Economy (FORGE). The Solidarity Center is a partner.
More than 1,000 workers were impacted by the sudden closure, during vacation, of the U.S.-owned Vald’or factory. They did not receive severance pay, as required by law.
In late December 2021, the factory owner sent a text message to workers asking them to return to work on January 6, 2022. Shortly after, workers received a second message telling them not to return, and the factory remained closed.
A month later, workers who lived near the factory witnessed the owner leaving the building with materials. The workers asked the owner what was happening. They were told that the factory was closing due to bankruptcy and a lack of orders.
Workers began demonstrating at the factory that evening and spent the night there. They called the Haitian Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MAST), and the next day, MAST representatives came to the factory along with the factory owner to meet with the workers, where the owner confirmed the factory’s closure.
The workers reached out to leaders of the Association of Textile Workers’ Unions for Re-importation (GOSTTRA), affiliated with the Confederation of Public and Private Sector Workers (CTSP), and Respect for Haitian factory workers (ROHAM), affiliated with Centrale Nationale des Ouvriers Haitians (CNOHA). GOSTTRA called on workers to meet at MAST’s regional headquarters on February 3 to ask that workers receive the severance pay and benefits owed them. Both unions at the factory, with the support of the Solidarity Center and Worker Rights Consortium, worked with Better Work Haiti, the Association of Industries of Haiti (ADIH), MAST and the government’s Textile Ombudsperson’s Office (BMST) to trace and contact workers, calculate what each worker was owed and inform workers about the distribution process.
PVH Corp, the owner of Tommy Hilfiger and Calvin Klein, agreed to cover workers’ severance and pension contributions, totaling $1 million. Severance pay for most workers was the equivalent of a half- or full-year’s wages. A number of women had health insurance claims, which were also covered.
GOSTTRA leadership heralds this victory for the factory workers–and for the entire Haitian labor movement. “What we learned from this experience is that if all the unions could work together, we would be better able to achieve our goals,” they say in a written statement.
On the eve of the Summit for Democracy, high-level U.S. government officials and domestic and international labor activists highlighted the fundamental role of trade unions to reinforce, expand and protect democracy around the world at an official summit side event.
The event Tuesday, March 28, “No Democracy Without Unions: Labor Movements as Defenders of Democratic Rights,” featured Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity; Fred Redmond, AFL-CIO secretary-treasurer, president of the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas and a Solidarity Center board member; Becky Pringle, president of the National Education Association; Kelly Fay Rodriguez, State Department special representative for labor affairs; and video messages from Maung Maung, president of the Confederation of Trade Unions-Myanmar, and Lizaveta Merliak, leader of Salidarnast, an association of exiled Belarus labor unionists. The event was co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development.
State Department Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Uzra Zeya opened the event by underscoring “unions’ unique and critical contributions to democratic societies.” She emphasized the dangers faced by labor activists fighting for basic rights, including Chhim Sithar, a Cambodian union leader imprisoned for her organizing work, and the Belarussian union leaders recently sentenced to lengthy prison terms for exercising their fundamental right to freedom of association and assembly. “These cases are emblematic of closing space for civil society champions writ large around the world,” she said.
Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Labor Thea Lee, event moderator, concurred. “Governments that cannot tolerate democracy, cannot tolerate criticism are the most vicious in silencing worker movements,” she said.
“The fact the authoritarian regimes have tried to silence activists like Maung Maung and Lizaveta only underscores their leadership as champions of democracy and democratic values,” Lee added. “Democratic, grassroots workers movements threaten dictatorship.”
Indeed, worker movements have brought down dictatorships. Fred Redmond cited the example of Brazil, where labor led a mass civil society movement—including key strikes in the 1970s—and helped return democracy to the country and where, at the beginning of this century, the administrations of President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva and President Dilma Rousseff—both former labor leaders—helped lift 40 million Brazilians out of poverty.
“The survival of democracy anywhere depends on working people defending it,” said Redmond.
The entire session can be viewed here. Solidarity Center Executive Director Shawna Bader-Blau spoke at a separate Summit for Democracy side event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which can be viewed here.
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