Date of publication: December 2, 2008
Source: Daily Independent (Nigeria)
» http://allafrica.com/stories/200812020794.html [1]
The anti-union repressions in Africa have affected thousands of men and women who were calling for decent work and a future for their children.
ITUC's latest Annual Survey on Violations of Trade Union Rights has shown that the undemocratic nature of many political regimes, the absence of the rule of law and inadequate labour legislation in Africa have allowed many managers and employers to exert intolerable pressure on unions and their members
According to the report, in Guinea for instance, the repression orchestrated by President Lansana ContÈ and his associates was unspeakably brutal.
"During the huge demonstration in January and February, which was based on a series of legitimate demands, the police violence resulted in 129 deaths, with 1,700 people injured while dozens of trade union leaders were beaten and arrested, women were raped and the labour exchange was ransacked"
"In Zimbabwe too, albeit sadly more predictably, the despotism of a single man brought about a new wave of violence and trade union rights violations.
President Robert Mugabe remained merciless towards the unions", it added
Also, in Mozambique, for instance, a striker was shot dead by security guards in a sugar cane plantation", the report further exposed
The ITUC survey revealed that the South African authorities made use of police repression against the workers while in Chad, the government tightened up the law on the right to strike in order to quash a general strike in the public sector.
"In Morocco, many arrests and charges were made on May 1, 2008 for attacking sacred values while in Egypt, hundreds of illegal strikes and sit-ins took place with many labour leaders arrested."
In some other African countries, many workers were met with police violence and unjust punishments when defying the authorities in order to defend their rights. This was the case in Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, CÙte d'Ivoire, Mauritania, Namibia, Uganda and Tunisia, amongst others.
Against a background of constantly worsening social conditions linked to the rising price of food and essential services, the strikes and other protest actions by African workers all too rarely brought them positive results.
On the contrary, in many countries employers and/or the authorities systematically repressed anyone demanding better conditions.
The ITUC Survey reports a rise in anti-union acts in the media sector.
In Nigeria and Cameroon, employers chose to silence the demands of their employees by firing large numbers of them while in Kenya, journalists were dismissed for belonging to a union, the report disclosed.
Also, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there were virulent attacks on trade unionists in both private and public media.
The report however revealed that in Tunisia, where the trade union activities of journalists are widely repressed, some progress was noted at the end of 2007 with the creation of a new trade union that is at least partially independent.