Workers’ Rights Situation in Asia and the Pacific, (with specific reference to South Asia)

1. Workers’ Rights Situation in Asia and the Pacific, (with specific reference to South Asia) Pong-Sul AHN Senior Specialist on Workers’Activities ILO Subregional Office for South Asia

2. Overview of Key Labour Issues in South Asia

3. Key labour Issues • Impacts of globalisation • Expansion of the informal economy • Poverty • Political uncertainty • Migration • Gender issues • OSHE issues • HIV/AIDS • Unemployment and underemployment

4. Impacts of Globalisation • privatisation, liberalisation of financial market, flexible labour market

5. The Poverty Line in South Asia, 2000

6. Income Distribution Pattern

7. Workforce in the Informal and the Formal Sector in South Asia

8. Male and Female Labour Force Participation in South Asia

9. Employment/ Underemployment Situation in India • In India, as of 2004, out of 406 million labour force, 397 million are employed and around 9 million are openly unemployed • Over 40 million job seekers are registered with 945 employment exchanges in the country. • Over 4 crore job seekers are registered with the 945 employment exchanges • 70% of these job seekers are young educated unemployed • One fourth of them are young women

10. Every year 7-8 million job seekers enter the work force • High underemployment and lack of employment opportunity • Educated unemployment (14.7%) is much higher than the normal unemployment rate of around 2.235 • Around 9 million open unemployed plus 123 million working poor

11. Adult Literacy of Male and Females, %

12. Number of Registered Trade Unions and their Membership in India

13. Trade Union Membership in Bangladesh, 2004

14. Trade Union Situation in South Asia • Low unionisation rate – India - 3 %, Pakistan - 2.69 %, Bangladesh - 3 % Nepal - 5 %, Sri Lanka - 22 % • Weak capacity of trade unions – finance, staffing, administration, etc • Political affiliation • Non-implementation of labour law • Negative Impacts of the Informal economy

15. Causes of Accidents in Bangladesh, 2006

16. Sector Wise Accidents in Bangladesh

17. Child labour in South Asia • Bangladesh in 2000, 19 percent of about 6.3 million children between 5 and 14 years are child labour • Nepal, in 1996, an estimated 2.6 million children were working. • Pakistan, 3.6 million in 1999 • India, around 10.2 million in 2000

18. Ratification and Implementation of ILO Core Conventions in South Asia, 2006

19. Workers’ Rights Situation in South Asia

20. AFHANISTAN TRADE UNIONS • CCNUAE – Central Council of National Union of Afghanistan Employees • AAFTU (1) – All Afghanistan Federation of Trade Unions • AAFLU (2) – All Afghanistan Federation of Labour Union • ALO – Afghanistan Labour Organisation

21. MAIN LABOUR ISSUES • Unemployment • Lower level of living standards in sheltering, schooling, medicare, etc • Return migration • Layoffs in the public/civil service sectors • No labour law and social dialogue mechanism

22. ILO/ACTRAV Activities • Training on a new labour law submitted • IT training for youth and women to network trade unions inside and outside the country • Establishment of independent and democratic national union umbrella •  Establishing a tripartite social dialogue mechanism

23. IRAN WORKERS’ ORGANISATIONS • Syndicates (trade union) • Islamic labour councils at workplaces (1) Workers’ House (2) Independent trade unions– Journalists, Musicians, food industries, Truck/ bus drivers, etc

24. MAIN LABOUR ISSUES • Privatisation • An open market policy to join WTO • Unemployment, especially for women and youth • Contract labour system • Violation of FOA, not recognising independent unions

25. Representatives of different trade unions in Iran

26. ILO/ACTRAV Activities • Realising freedom of association by launching a ratification campaign on ILO Con. No.87 and No.98 • Strengthening the capacity of NLAC • Increasing the participation of women in trade unions • Capacity-building of newly organised trade unions

27. BANGLADESH TRADE UNIONS • National Coordination Committee for Workers’ Education (NCCWE) – affiliating 16 federations

28. MAIN LABOUR ISSUES • Job insecurity in the RMG sector after the termination of MFA • Violation of labour rights • Denial of Freedom of association in EPZs • Privatisation • Out-migration from Bangladesh • Universal application of a minimum wage • Child labour

29. ILO/ACTRAV Activities •  Strengthening the capacity of NCCWE as a national union umbrella •  Developing training modules on amended labour law Increasing the participation of women in the activities and decision-making bodies of trade unions  Organising workers in informal economy social compliance in the garment sector

30. INDIA 1. Trade unions in the formal sector • Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS); • Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC), with an affiliation of ICFTU • Hind Mazdoor Sabha (HMS), with an ICFTU affiliation • All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC), with a membership of WFTU • Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) • Self-employed Women’s Association (SEWA) 2. Trade unions in the informal economy • National Centre for Labour (NCL) • Working Women’s Forum (WWF)

31. MAIN LABOUR ISSUES • Violation of freedom of association in the public sector, textile and garment, and EPZs • Lack of social security system for informal workers • Child labour • HIV/AIDS • Downgraded working and living standards in tea/ coffee plantation, rubber, RMG • Privatisation in civil aviation, banks and insurance, telecom

32. ILO/ACTRAV Activities • Organising the unorganized workers  Gender mainstreaming and women empowerment in trade union •  Capacity-building of trade unions through the middle-level leadership training

33. NEPAL TRADE UNIONS • General Federation of Nepalese Trade Unions (GEFONT) • Nepal Trade Union Congress (NTUC) • Democratic Confederation of Nepalese Trade Unions (DECONT) • All Nepal Federation of Trade Unions (Maoists) • Confederation of Nepalese Professionals (CONEP)

34. MAIN LABOUR ISSUES • Privation in hotel & tourism industry and financial sector • Youth unemployment • Non-implementation of collective agreement • Poverty and downgraded livelihoods • Political uncertainty

36. ILO/ACTRAV Activities • establishing comprehensive social security • Ratification of ILO convention No.87 •  Organising the Informal economy workers •  respect for trade union rights and collective bargaining

37. PAKISTAN TRADE UNIONS • Pakistan Workers’ Confederation (PWC) • All Pakistan Trade Union Congress (APTUC), affiliated to WCL • All Pakistan Trade Unions Federation (APTUF), affiliated to WFTU • Pakistan Trade Unions Federation (PTUF) • Pakistan Labour Fedeation (PLF)

38. MAIN LABOUR ISSUES • Privatisation on electricity, PIA, telecom • Violation of ILS (Industrial Relations Ordinance 2002) • Exempting labour inspection in industrial zones • OSH issues

39. ILO/ACTRAV Activities •  Capacity-building of the Pakistan Workers’ Confederation (PWC) after the merger in Sept. 05 • Training union office bearers on ILS • Increasing the participation and leadership development of women in trade unions • Organising the informal economy workers • Youth employment and poverty reduction

40. SRI LANKA TRADE UNIONS • National Association for Trade Union Research and Education (NATURE) – established in 1998 with affiliation of 18 national federations

41. MAIN LABOUR ISSUES • Violation of freedom of association in EPZs and public sector like port and dock • Inflation-linked wage negotiation • Social costs of migration • Unemployment against youth and women

42. ILO/ACTRAV Activities •  Strengthening the capacity-building of the NATURE • Trade union second-level leadership training • Organising the Tsunami-affected people through vocational training • Dispute settlement in the public sector •  Participation of women in the decision-making of trade unions

43. THANK YOU