A UN agency on Thursday condemned Argentina, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Fiji and Peru for having the worst record for workers¹ rights out of 32 countries it reviewed. The five countries singled out constituted "the most serious and urgent cases regarding freedom of association," said the International Labour Organisation. An ILO report looked at the murder of four workers in Argentina during the eviction of staff from a construction site in Mar del Plata in 2009.
It also investigated the murder of three trade union leaders in Cambodia between 2004 and 2007, urging the authorities to "punish the guilty parties and bring an end to the climate of impunity in the country." The ILO report also covered the murder of a trade union leader in Peru in 2008 linked to clashes with police during a mining protest, though it noted that the killer had not been identified.
Fiji came in for criticism for having blocked an ILO investigation of allegations of assault and harassment against trade union leaders and members. The ILO called on the authorities there to let their investigator back into the country. The ILO also called on Ethiopia to recognise the national teachers' union, which first made its request for official accreditation four years ago.
The findings were made in a report by the ILO's committee on freedom of association. The report also criticised reports that Belarus was failing to recognise trades unions and noted that the government there had failed to respond to ILO recommendations on the issue.
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