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Title: Appendix B: Reporting on Worker Rights, 1995
Author: U.S. Department of State
Date: March 1996
APPENDIX B
Reporting on Worker Rights
The Generalized System of Preferences Renewal Act of 1984 requires
reporting on worker rights in GSP beneficiary countries. It states that
internationally recognized worker rights include "(A) the right of
association; (B) the right to organize and bargain collectively; (C) a
prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor; (D) a
minimum age for the employment of children; and (E) acceptable
conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and
occupational safety and health." All five aspects of worker rights are
discussed in each report in a final section under the heading "Worker
Rights." The discussion of worker rights considers not only laws and
regulations but also their practical implementation, taking into account
the following additional guidelines:
A. "The right of association" has been defined by the International
Labor Organization (ILO) to include the right of workers and employers
to establish and join organizations of their own choosing without
previous authorization; to draw up their own constitutions and rules,
elect their representatives,
and formulate their programs; to join in confederations and affiliate
with international organizations; and to be protected
against dissolution or suspension by administrative authority.
The right of association includes the right of workers to strike. While
strikes may be restricted in essential services (i.e., those services
the interruption of which would endanger the life, personal safety, or
health of a significant portion of the population) and in the public
sector, these restrictions must be offset by adequate guarantees to
safeguard the interests
of the workers concerned (e.g., machinery for mediation and arbitration;
due process; and the right to judicial review of all legal actions).
Reporting on restrictions affecting the ability of workers to strike
generally includes information on any procedures that may exist for
safeguarding workers' interests.
B. "The right to organize and bargain collectively" includes the
right of workers to be represented in negotiating the prevention and
settlement of disputes with employers; the right to protection against
interference; and the right to protection against acts of antiunion
discrimination. Governments should promote machinery for voluntary
negotiations
between employers and workers and their organizations. Reporting on the
right to organize and bargain collectively includes descriptions of the
extent to which collective bargaining takes place and the extent to
which unions, both in law and practice, are effectively protected
against antiunion discrimination.
C. "Forced or compulsory labor" is defined as work or service
exacted from any person under the menace of penalty and for which the
person has not volunteered. "Work or service" does not apply in
instances in which obligations are imposed to undergo education or
training. "Menace of penalty" includes loss of rights or privileges as
well as penal sanctions. The ILO has exempted the following from its
definition of forced labor: compulsory military service, normal civic
obligations, certain forms of prison labor, emergencies, and minor
communal services. Forced labor should not be used as a means of (1)
mobilizing and using labor for purposes of economic development; (2)
racial, social, national, or religious discrimination; (3) political
coercion or education, or as a punishment for holding or expressing
political views or views ideologically opposed to the established
political, social, or economic system; (4) labor discipline; or (5) as a
punishment for having participated in strikes. Constitutional
provisions concerning the obligation of citizens to work do not violate
this right so long as they do not take the form of legal obligations
enforced by sanctions and are consistent with the principle of "freely
chosen employment."
D. "Minimum age for employment of children" concerns the effective
abolition of child labor by raising the minimum age for employment to a
level consistent with the fullest physical and mental development of
young people. In addition, young people should not be employed in
hazardous conditions or at night.
E. "Acceptable conditions of work" refers to the establishment and
maintenance of machinery, adapted to national conditions, that provides
for minimum working standards, i.e., wages that provide a decent living
for workers and their families; working hours that do not exceed 48
hours per week, with a full 24-hour rest day; a specified annual paid
holiday; and minimum conditions for the protection of the safety and
health of workers. Differences in levels of economic development are
taken into account in the formulation of internationally recognized
labor standards. For example, many ILO standards concerning working
conditions permit flexibility in their scope and coverage. They may
also permit countries a wide choice in their implementation, including
progressive implementation, by enabling countries to accept a standard
in part or subject to specified exceptions. Countries are expected
to take steps over time to achieve the higher levels specified in such
standards. It should be understood, however, that this flexibility
applies only to internationally recognized standards
concerning working conditions. No flexibility is permitted concerning
the acceptance of the basic principles contained in human rights
standards, i.e., freedom of association, the right to organize and
bargain collectively, the prohibition of forced labor, and the absence
of discrimination.
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