ITUC GLOBAL RIGHTS INDEX

PART I //
THE WORLD’S
10 WORST
COUNTRIES
FOR WORKERS
Belarus
With President Alexander Lukashenko, often referred to as Europe’s last dictator,
in power workers are extremely restricted in exercising their fundamental rights.
The United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in
Belarus, Miklos Haraszti, has confirmed again that the “systematic
violation of human rights, in particular civil and political rights,
continues” and that independent labour unions are suppressed.
In addition, to serious infringements of the right to freedom of
association through imprisonments and dismissals of workers for
engaging with independent unions, the government is now promoting
forced labour. Decree No. 9 signed into law in December 2012 stipulates
that workers employed in wood processing enterprises cannot terminate
their employment contracts without the consent of their employer. This year the
government also adopted Decree No. 3 “on the prevention of social parasitism.”
Accordingly, every resident who has been unemployed for over six months must
pay a penalty to the state.
Cambodia
In recent years, Cambodian workers have been exposed to retaliation, violence
and imprisonment, in particular when they campaigned for a minimum wage
that would allow them to cover their basic needs. However, with the approval of
the new Trade Union Law this year, the government has further limited workers’
ability to negotiate over their working conditions and pay. Despite relentless
opposition from unions, the ILO and several global garment brands, the govern-
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