The ITUC Global Rights Index depicts the world’s worst countries for workers by rating 139 countries on a scale from 1-5 based on the degree of respect for workers’ rights. Workers’ rights are absent in countries with the rating 5 and violations occur on an irregular basis in countries with the rating 1.
As the global voice of working people, the ITUC has been documenting and exposing violations of workers’ rights for three decades. This has been done through narrative information published in the ITUC Survey. The ITUC Global Rights Index was developed to increase the visibility and transparency of each country’s record on workers’ rights. In addition, the ITUC Global Rights Index serves as a tool to track trends across the world every time changes in policies or legislation take place.
The ITUC Global Rights Index is based on information recorded in the ITUC Survey, the world’s most comprehensive database on workers’ rights violations. It covers violations in law and in practice. Legal analysts identify legislation that fails to protect workers. Violations in practice are identified by ITUC affiliates in 161 countries.
The ITUC has compiled a list of 97 indicators corresponding to violations recorded in the ITUC Survey. A country will receive a point for each violation matching the indicators. Once all data has been processed and the final scores are tallied, countries are rated on a scale from 1 to 5. A high score effectively means that a large number of violations were committed which in turn results in a poor rating.
Yes, rights of vulnerable workers are also factored in the ITUC Global Rights Index. These violations are increasingly being recorded, as more and more workers in the informal economy are organised in trade unions.
The ITUC is working towards covering all countries in the ITUC Global Rights Index. Some countries have not been included in the 2014 edition. The reason for this could be that trade unions were unable to submit reports or the information gathered by the ITUC didn´t fulfill the criteria described above.
The 2014 ITUC Global Rights Index revealed that workers in some economically developed countries still face repression for demanding better working conditions and a fair share of the wealth they helped to create.
No matter the wealth, size or location of a country, fundamental rights should be assured to workers around the globe.
The information in the ITUC Global Rights Index is built upon the ITUC Survey and has not been challenged by governments and employers. Whereas some governments claimed to be working on reforms to improve their overall ratings, others have approached the ITUC to better understand the issues highlighted by the Survey.
From April- to the following March. The ITUC will release a new edition of the ITUC Global Rights Index every year.