In a new report on Niger and Senegal, produced to coincide with the 22-24 September WTO review of those countries' trade policies, the ICFTU details continued violations of core International Labour Organisation conventions that the two countries have ratified.
The ICFTU calls on the authorities to comply fully with core labour standards and to ensure that more than just a handful of people enjoy these basic rights.
The report criticises Senegal's Labour Code, and the broad powers the Ministry has to dissolve trade unions. This follows attacks by the authorities on trade union organisations, leading to the destabilisation of the largest trade union center.
The report also notes that there are a number of restrictions on the right to strike in both countries, including the government powers to force striking workers to provide certain services.
Workers in the informal economy and agriculture, the large majority of the workforce in both Senegal and Niger, have no protection of their labour rights. In Niger, up to 95% of the working population is involved informal or unprotected work.
The report documents pervasive discrimination against women in both countries. Women in rural areas in particular have less access to education than men, partly as a result of long-standing practices and existing high illiteracy rates. A result of this discrimination is that many women are deprived of access to decent employment.
The situation concerning child labour is alarming. The vast majority of children in Niger (70 percent) work, whereas around 40 percent of Senegalese children work. Most are active in subsistence agriculture and urban informal activities. In Niger child labour in mining occurs under extremely hazardous conditions.
Forced labour is prohibited by law but occurs in practice. Examples include trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation and for domestic work, and forced begging.
The report calls for a series of measures to be taken by the governments to comply with internationally-recognised core labour standards. These include measures to respect freedom of association and the right to strike. Determined action is needed to end discrimination, whether on ethnic, gender or other grounds. Both governments must work with the ILO to address effectively the problem of child labour. The governments must also ensure, with assistance from the ILO, that their Labour Codes apply to all working people, and not only those in the formal economy.
For the full report, please go to:
http://www.icftu.org/displaydocument.asp?Index=991217394&Language=EN
* Editorial note: This report evaluating Niger's and Senegal's adherence to internationally-recognised core labour standards is part of a series produced by the ICFTU since the Ministerial Declaration adopted at the first Ministerial Conference of the WTO (Singapore, December 1996) and re-affirmed on November 14, 2001 in Doha, by which all WTO members stated their commitment to respect core labour standards. It is submitted to the WTO trade policy review board.
The ICFTU represents 158 million workers in 231 affiliated organisations in 150 countries and territories. The ICFTU is also a member of Global Unions: http://www.global-unions.org