The World Index of Trade Union Rights and Freedoms of 2018, issued recently by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), revealed that the Arab region is considered as an unsafe workplace, regarding the civil wars and conflicts in Syria, Yemen and Libya and the occupation of Palestine.
The report highlighted that the Arab region is considered as the worst in the world regarding workers' rights. In fact, there are many arrests and detentions of trade unionists and their families for long periods, especially in Algeria and Egypt, where attempts were made to establish independent trade unions away from the ruling elite (in light of the wave of the Arab uprisings of 2011) There have been signs of the emergence of opposition movements among groups of angry workers, who suffer from harsh and unfair working conditions.
The report pointed out that workers do not face only security violence but also legal violence, as many of them are excluded from any protection provided by labour laws. In addition, migrant workers suffer severe discrimination, particularly in the Gulf countries and in Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia tops the record of violations of labour rights and freedoms and the authorities justify the exploitative practices of migrant workers consisted of forced labour and almost slavery. In 2017, 49 workers were sentenced to 300 lashes and 4 months of prison for asking that “Bin Laden” group to pay their unpaid wages.
#ITUC #Arab_region #worst_place
English 
العربية