PHILIPPINES AMONG TOP 10 WORST COUNTRIES FOR WORKERS

For eight straight years, Philippines is among the worst countries for workers (Photo courtesy of Philippine Daily Inquirer)

The Philippines is again among the world’s top 10 worst countries for workers according to the 2024 Global Rights Index of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). This is the second year in a row that Philippines has been included in the said category. 

Received a rating of five the same as last year’s ITUC, one of the reasons is said to be the failure of the government to protect workers' rights. According to the survey, the nation is among those in the world where workers "have no access to their rights" and are "exposed to unfair labor practices."

The ITUC research lists the Philippines among the top ten worst countries for laborers since 2017. It also mentioned the numerous challenges faced by unions and unionists in the country citing alleged obstacles in union formation and the deaths of trade unionists. 

“Workers and unions in the Philippines remained at the mercy of red tagging, violence, abductions and arbitrary arrests.” Workers across many sectors “still faced significant obstacles when attempting to form trade unions,” the ITUC noted.

Other worst countries in the list are Bangladesh, Belarus, Ecuador, Egypt, Eswatini, Guatemala, Myanmar, Tunisia, and Turkey. 

While the countries that are best for workers in the 2024 Global Rights Index of ITUC are Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, and Sweden which only sporadic violations of workers’ rights.

The ITUC Global Rights Index is a comprehensive review of workers’ right in law ranking 151 countries, “Workers are the beating heart of democracy, and their right to be heard is crucial to the health and sustainability of democratic systems. When their rights are violated, democracy itself is attacked. Democracy, trade unions and workers’ rights go together; you simply cannot have one without the other.”

Source: Daily Tribune

Be part of ImHenyo community!

Get featured by sharing your stories, news, and comments

Email us at [email protected]